Wise Delegates Enhance Republican Convention

D. A. Sharpe, Aurora, TX

 

 

Seventeen politically astute Wise County Republicans descended upon the Texas State Republican Convention June 11-12 at the Dallas Convention Center.  Their political peers elected these honored citizens at the March 20, 2010 Wise County Republican Convention.    Political parties in Texas hold state conventions every other year during June when federal elections are scheduled in November.  The Democratic Party of Texas holds its convention June 24-26 in Corpus Christi, TX. 

 

The Texas Republican Convention is the largest delegated political convention in the world.  There were 5,168 Delegates and 3,169 Alternate Delegates seated at the Convention, all of whom were elected from among the 254 Counties of Texas at the respective Republican County and Senatorial conventions, all held on March 20.  It was announced that no other delegated political body has this many delegates and alternates, not even the national convention of political parties.  The Democratic Party County conventions were held on the same day.   Each political party sends Delegates to its state convention by the ration of one Delegate and one Alternate Delegate for each 300 votes cast for that partyÕs Gubernatorial candidate in the most recent General Election for Governor.  Experience is that more Delegates are eligible than actually attend the conventions. 

 

For example, Wise County Republicans were eligible to send 23 Delegates and 23 Alternate Delegates.  However, it only elected 23 and 8 respectively.   Due to a number of family medical situations and some employment needs that surfaced, the net effect was for Wise County to have 18 Delegates attend.

 

The 2006 General Election of 1,716,972 votes for Governor Perry made Republicans eligible to send 5,720 Delegates and Alternates this year, where as only 5,168 actually registered.  Likewise, the 1,310,337 who voted for Democratic candidate for Governor, Chris Bell, in 2006 will make the Democratic Party eligible this year to have 4,365 Delegates and Alternates.    The purposes and functions of agenda items of both parties are almost identical.   It is their stands on the issues that are the differences.

 

The purpose of the State Convention is three-fold. Most importantly, a Platform of stands about political issues establishes what the Party represents. This is the very last action in the agenda, and is the reason that Delegates need to plan not to depart early. Next purposes are to elect the party leadership and to determine the Rules by which the party functions.

 

The election of its Party Officials are the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the State Republican Executive Committee.  Each PartyÕs State Executive Committee is composed of one Committeewoman and one Committeeman from each of TexasÕ 31 Senatorial Districts.  Wise county is one of 18 counties in Texas Senate District 30, whose Senator is Craig Estes of Wichita Falls.  The governance of the parties between state conventions is the responsibility of the respective State Executive Committees, in accordance with their adopted Rules and in view of their party platform, both of which are approved only by votes of the full conventions of delegates at State Conventions.  

 

In Presidential election years, the parties have additional purposes to elect representation to its National Convention and to elect Electors to serve in the Electoral College.

 

Mr. Steve Munisteri, a 52-year-old Harris County (Houston) attorney, was elected Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas for the next two- year term.  The Founder of Young Conservatives of Texas back in the 1970Õs, Steve Munisteri's campaign for Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas drew in a huge contingent of young people, as well as a groundswell grass roots effort to propel him to the Chairmanship of the RPT at the State Convention Saturday.  Incumbent Cathie Adams of Dallas County lost in a floor vote.  The voting of the State Republican Executive Committee eliminated Tom Mechler of Amarillo (Potter & Randall Counties).

 

Melinda Fredricks of Montgomery County (Conroe) was elected Vice Chairman.  Republican Party Rules stipulate that the Chairman and the Vice Chairman positions must be opposite genders.  The Chairman is elected first.  Since Mr. Munisteri is a male, it was dictated that the Vice Chairman be female.  Ms. Fredricks was the only female candidate who had filed for that office, which resulted in her election. 

 

The Senate District 30 Caucus where Wise County is did elect Ms. Rena Pedan of Weatherford as its Committeewoman to serve on the State Republican Executive Committee.  No candidate opposed her.  The SD 30 Committeeman was decided in a race between Mr. Golden Elkins of Young County and Mr. Richard Hayes of Denton County.  Mr. Elkins was successful by a vote of 183 to 139.   

 

The Republican Party of Texas has term limits of four consecutive two-year terms for its Chairman, Vice Chairman and all of the State Republican Executive Committee members.  Our SD 30 Caucus Chairman was Mr. Clyde Siebman, a Grayson County attorney who completed eight years as of this Convention.  Our Committeewoman seat had recently become vacant.

 

Rules are simply ways devised to provide for a fair and orderly process for the conventions to conduct its purposes and business.  The Party Platform is the written expression on political issues from the grass roots of the respective parties to say is what they want to represent the ideals of their party.  It is the set of positions that the grass roots, as expressed in majority votes by delegates, expect its party candidates to support and to represent.  Candidates cannot legally be forced to adhere or support their party platform, which sometimes is a frustration of party members.   The solution when that may be the case is for the voters to vote for another candidate in the next Party Primary Election! 

 

The state conventions are times where State and National elected officials are heard. In addition, Delegates hear candidates for those offices who seek to replace incumbent office holders of the opposite party.  Delegates can take opportunity to meet and greet candidates and elected officials in which they might be interested.  This opportunity for personal interface with these people usually only known to them mostly in the media is a reason that attending a state convention benefits delegates.

 

The most important time in the schedule is the last half of Saturday afternoon when the Chairman and Vice Chairman elections occur, and the Rules and Platform are adopted.  These invite the most opportunity for extended debate and voting.  Typically, the convention can adjourn as early as 4:00 PM.  However, the vigor of debate this year over Rules and the Platform entertained the Delegates until 7:45 PM Saturday night!  It was a tired, but enthused set of Delegates who headed home with new vision for political victory in the General Elections of November 2, 2010.