Saturday was filled with last gasps of hot air from the Simpson crowd – still working to undue the March 2020 election results. This is an informational update on the Saturday Showdown of the Simpson Sycophants.

At 11:38 p.m. on Saturday, August 1, current Senate District 13 Chair Kristy Bridges sent the following email:

Dear Fellow Precinct Chairs, 

I hope this email finds you well. Attached you will find a letter kindly reminding Mr. Nielsen that he stated on June 6th, 2020, that he would not be taking office as the Harris County Republican Party Chairman. If you would like to add your name to this list of activists, please let me know by responding to this email.

Kind Regards,

Kristy Thackerson Bridges

Two years ago, Senate District 13 elected Kristy, a Houston Independent School District employee. The signatories to this silly correspondence (a) fail to understand the Texas Election Code, (b) are working to defeat Donald J. Trump by their actions, and (c) are working to defeat a duly elected official.

On Saturday morning, the 2018-2020 Harris County Republican Party Vacancy Committee gathered for its final meeting of its two year term. The committee interviewed ten applicants including Josh Flynn, outgoing secretary of the Republican Party of Texas. 

The Vacancy Committee consists of the following twelve members: John Stuart (Senate District 4),  Martha Fierro (Senate District 6), Melissa Rowell (Senate District 7), Curtis McKinley (Senate District 7), Glenn Jenkinson (Senate District 11), Rachel Hooper (Senate District 13), Rolando Garcia (Senate District 15), John Randall (Senate District 15), Bob Sumicek (Senate District 17), Nancy Scott (Senate District 17), Richard Smith (Senate District 18), and Buffie Ingersoll (Simpson Appointee). On Saturday, only Rowell, Jenkinson, Hooper, Garcia, Randall, Sumicek, Scott, and Ingersoll were present. 

Josh Flynn was the first candidate to appear before the committee on Saturday morning. Each member present had a full, unlimited opportunity to ask any questions. The only substantive question was related to Josh’s run for state representative, which required his resignation from the Harris County Department of Education. When it came time to vote, Bob Sumicek demanded a secret ballot. This was the first sign of trouble. Up until this moment, there was no sign of opposition. When the secret ballot attempt failed, Bob Sumicek’s cohorts, Buffie Ingersoll, Nancy Scott, and John Randall, were exposed. Bob, Buffie, Nancy, and John voted against accepting Josh as a precinct chair. 

Under the HCRP bylaws, the Vacancy Committee meets “to interview and recommend qualified applicants to fill vacant precinct chairmen positions.” The Texas Election Code articulates the qualifications of a precinct chairman: • Be a resident of the precinct (Texas Election Code § 171.023) • Be a qualified voter in the county (Texas Election Code § 161.005) • Not be a county, state, or federal public officeholder or candidate for such office • In a general election year, be affiliated with the Republican Party through voting in the Republican primary election or runoff or by oath of affiliation (Texas Election Code § 162.001-162.012).

A precinct chairman’s job is to organize the precinct, help with elections, go to conventions, and become a member of the County Executive Committee.

Some of you may not be familiar with Josh Flynn. Let me give you a brief overview of his political resume. Since 1997, Josh has served as a precinct chair in precincts 330, 407, and 955. The only reason that he resigned as a precinct chair was due to his election to the Harris County Department of Education. When Dwayne Bohac announced that he would not seek reelection to the Texas House of Representatives, Josh left his position with the Harris County Department of Education and sought the Republican nomination for state representative. Simpson interfered in this election by challenging Josh’s eligibility, which forced Josh to successfully sue to remain on the ballot. Simpson argued that Josh’s trustee position, which he has resigned, disqualified him from a state legislature seat. Josh is unapologetically socially conservative. Nonetheless, in the March 2020 Republican Primary, the Houston Chronicle endorsed Josh for the state representative seat. While Josh did not win the primary election, he did receive over 32 percent of the vote – even with Simpson’s heavy hand on the race.

Typically, when a precinct chairman has moved and switched precincts, the committee has afforded the candidate the courtesy of not requiring an interview for the new precinct. This courtesy was broken this summer when the committee required James Buntrock, a minister at Glorious Way Church, to appear before the committee for an interview. Certain members of the committee are not happy with the fact that Buntrock is running for Senate District 7 Chair and wanted to prevent his candidacy by blocking his nomination as a precinct chair. Buntrock has served as chair of precinct 486 since 2016. Buntrock’s activism was triggered when Annise Parker subpoenaed sermons of ministers opposed to the city’s proposed bathroom bill. Recently, Buntrock moved from precinct 486 to precinct 726. On May 28, Buntrock submitted his application for chair of precinct 726. A group seeking to block Buntrock’s nomination encouraged two other candidates to submit applications on June 10. The sole purpose of these additional candidates was to block Buntrock’s appointment prior to the Senate District Chair election at the organizational meeting. I believe that this episode was orchestrated by Charlotte Lampe and her crew, including Vacancy Committee member Curtis McKinley. On June 15, Buntrock appeared before the Vacancy Committee for an interview. During Buntrock’s interview, McKinley questioned Buntrock’s morality in seeking the position. McKinley was peddling some conspiracy theory that the previous chair of precinct 726, David Flower, was bullied out of the position by David Riddle in order for Buntrock to take over the precinct and run for Senate District 7 Chair. This is the type of alternate universe that Lampe and Friends often espouse. In reality, Flower was looking for an opportunity to hand off the precinct chair position to a responsible adult and he was happy to support Buntrock for the position.

Today, on the last day of Simpson’s term, please understand that Simpson is leaving our party on life support. Over the last six years, Simpson and his liberal sycophants have destroyed the party. After Simpson was defeated in March, the party actually applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan. Then, in April, after Keith Nielsen defeated Simpson the party received an unsecured loan from Allegience Bank. Also under Simpson’s leadership, Lampe obliterated the training committee. Howard Barker did nothing to stop massive payments to consultants like Mammoth Marketing Group. Conflicts of interest were allowed to fester and control party operations.

Back to the vacancy committee. Thankfully, the committee was smart enough to approve James Buntrock and not fall for Lampe’s shenanigans. Sadly, I cannot say the same about Josh Flynn. 

At the August 18 Harris County Republican Party Organizational Meeting, incoming precinct chairs will have a unique opportunity to approve important party leadership positions including Senate District Chairs and representatives to various party committees. Precinct chairs need to be on the lookout for those entering this meeting with an anti-party agenda. We already know that, in Senate District 15, Buffie Ingersoll is challenging committed grassroots activist Rolando Garcia. Buffie’s political resume includes supporting Devon Anderson following Anderson’s prosecution of anti-abortion activists, disregarding a duly elected party chair, sending questionable messages, and rejecting Josh Flynn to serve as a precinct chair.

Also, be on the lookout for Senate District 17. After Jim Hotze was elected to the Bellaire City Council, Bob Sumicek was approved to serve as Senate District 17 Chair. It is my understanding that he will be seeking the position on August 18. If it was not clear before, it should be crystal clear now. People like Ingersoll and Sumicek are seeking these positions to undermine the leadership of the Harris County Republican Party and President Trump. Members of the 2020-2022 Harris County Republican Party Executive Committee should ask each candidate for Senate District Chair and any party committee whether they will work to undermine the HCRP.

This is the most important election of our lives. If people really care about reelecting Donald J. Trump, then they will not support efforts to undermine Keith Nielsen, the duly elected 2020-2022 Harris County Republican Party Chairman. Imagine what the party could do if folks worked together for the common good.