The Roles, Goals, and Responsibilities of Precinct Chairs by Robert Canright

 

Being a precinct chair in the Republican Party of Collin County has been a very enlightening experience.  There is a lot of good work that I see the Republican Grassroots doing.  I have learned what is possible by observing great work being done by smart, dedicated Republicans.  I have written an outline of what I have seen as the scope of opportunities available to us as precinct chairs.  I start with a high level view of six categories.  Then I expand on those categories.  A few of these items are loaded, very challenging.  

I hope you find this list helpful in becoming a more effective precinct chair.  I welcome your thoughts.

 

Also, our Republican volunteers can get a view of what is possible for them as well as for precinct chairs.

Robert Canright

precinct 34

The Roles, Goals, and Responsibilities of Precinct Chairs by Robert Canright

 

High Level View

A.      Tactical Politics

B.      Strategic Politics

C.      Governance

D.      Discernment

E.       Virtue

F.       Steadfastness

 

Brief Explanations

 

A.  Tactical Politics

1.       GOTV

2.       Inform voters

3.       Attend Executive Committee meetings

4.       Host your precinct convention

 

B.  Strategic Politics

1.       Shape county party plans

2.       Counter competing parties

3.       Promote Republican goals

4.       Promote American political culture

 

C.  Governance

1.       Make motions in meetings to advance party goals

2.       Present and debate resolutions on important issues

3.       Use parliamentary procedures intelligently

4.       Improve party rules,  improve the party platform, promote good legislation

 

D.  Discernment

1.       Recognize when you are being told lies. 

2.       Recognize right from wrong

3.       Identify dishonest politicians

4.       Distinguish between honest criticism and ugly mudslinging         

 

E.  Virtue

1.       Do not lie, cheat, or bully – beware of bad leaders.  Do not repeat lies that you hear.

2.       Refuse to accept lying, cheating or bullying.  Choose to do what is right, not what is wrong.

3.       Do not use the party to advance socially or politically – serve the party without exploiting it

4.       Love America and what it stands for.

 

F.  Steadfastness

1.       Do not tire of fighting corruption and incompetence

2.       Do not give into bullying

3.       Do not forsake the assembly of honest Republicans

4.       Do not lose hope

Let's lead the state in fixing ballot fraud

Dear Friends,

I think we might have an opportunity to advance the cause of honest elections across the state in an unexpected way.  Normally we think of election fraud as Democrats using fake mail-in ballots to steal elections.   But there is another form of election fraud that we do not talk about, and that is ballot fraud.  What I mean by ballot fraud is when a candidate runs in an election for which he is not really eligible, based on residency requirements in the law.  

The most famous case of ballot fraud is when Brent Hagenbuch used his office address instead of his home address when he ran for Texas State Senate District 30.  Sen. Drew Springer retired from office.  There was an incumbent in the SD district in which Brent Hagenbuch lived, but there was no incumbent in SD30 because Springer was retiring, and where his business office was located. This seemed like an open-and-shut chase, yet Hagenbuch was allowed to continue to stay on the ballot and eventually won the election.  Candidate Carrie de Moor went to court and Judge Lee Gabriel, Denton County District Court, presided.  Candidate Jace Yarbrough, unsuccessfully sought to get a state appeals court to intervene.

How on earth did Hagenbuch get away with this?  Was it because he was endorsed by Gov. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick?  Was it because his legal team included political heavyweights like former Texas Secretary of State John Scott and State Rep. Richard Hayes, who is a past Denton County Republican Party chairman like Hagenbuch?  What was the logic to allow Hagenbuch to flout the residency requirements?  I was not interested enough in Denton's problems to research this curious turn of events, but now we appear to have ballot fraud here in Collin County.

The wife and daughter of Stephen Kallas live in Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1 (JP1), but Stephen Kallas claims residence in Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4 (JP4).  Mr. Kallas has chosen to run for the JP4 position instead of the JP1 position.  Why?  Is it because the Judge in JP1 listened to eyewitness testimony, looked at video evidence, and still found Stephen Kallas not guilty of misdemeanor assault, saying he had reasonable doubt?  I don't believe that Stephen Kallas lives in JP4, but the real decision rests with a District Court Judge.

Since Brent Hagenbuch got away with pretty obvious ballot fraud, maybe the laws have too many loopholes.  If we know what the problems are in the laws that make the residency laws hard to enforce, then we can identify the changes that are needed and advocate for those changes in our party platform.  Across the state, Republicans could use our new anti-ballot fraud party platform plank to press our legislators to fix our laws, if they need to be fixed.

It was hard to be motivated to dig into ballot fraud in another county, but now the concern about ballot fraud is here at home, in Collin County.  We are not surprised when we have dishonest legislators, but it seems intolerable to have a dishonest judge.  A Justice of the Peace is a judge.  We should try to understand what happens in this case, which is case number 296-09883-2025 in the Collin County District Courts.

The laws are complicated, but since ballot fraud is widespread across the state, and because ballot fraud is the most common way Establishment politicians undermine Grassroots candidates, it is important to have some understanding of what is going on here in Collin County.  One point to understand is that you or I cannot make any formal complaints about any ballot fraud we perceive.  The problem must be addressed in court and only a candidate has standing.  If the court agrees that a candidate is not eligible to run in a race, the judge who makes that decision cannot remove the bogus candidate from the ballot.  But the judge can order the county party chairman to remove the bogus candidate from the ballot.

The way that our legal system is setup, Candidate Vincent Venegoni is able to file a complaint with the courts, and the complaint is not against the candidate whose eligibility is questioned.  No.  The complaint must be against the county party chairman because it is only by compelling the party chair with a court order to remove an ineligible candidate that the problem can be fixed.

It appears that ballot fraud is used across the state.  This issue is important enough that I want to follow it, understand it, and think about how we can use our party platform to fix a widespread problem.   We have a lot of smart people here in Collin County.  We could lead the state in fixing  the problem of ballot fraud!

Thank you for your patience with this complicated issue.

Robert Canright

References:

About the Hagenbuch case

‘Tangled Web of Lies’: Texas Senate Residency Challenge Heading to Trial

By Erin Anderson | January 23, 2024

https://texasscorecard.com/local/tangled-web-of-lies-texas-senate-residency-challenge-heading-to-trial/

Judge lets Texas Senate contender campaign amid residency doubts

BY PATRICK SVITEK

Tuesday JAN. 23, 2024, 12:18 P.M. CENTRAL

The Texas Tribune

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/23/denton-county-election-brent-hagenbuch-2/

Senate District 30 candidate Hagenbuch can stay on ballot, but denied lawsuit dismissal challenging his residency

By Juan Betancourt Staff Writer Jan 22, 2024

Denton Record - Chronicle

https://dentonrc.com/news/denton_county/senate-district-30-candidate-hagenbuch-can-stay-on-ballot-but-denied-lawsuit-dismissal-challenging-his/article_f185f6af-3052-5316-8922-b139735915a6.html

Example from another contest

When it comes to Texas politics, residency for candidates is ‘a state of mind’ | KERA News

KERA | By Miranda Suarez

Published February 20, 2024 at 6:00 AM CST

https://www.keranews.org/government/2024-02-20/when-it-comes-to-texas-politics-residency-for-candidates-is-a-state-of-mind

Part of the oath a judicial candidate signs on his ballot application:

"I further swear that the foregoing statements included in my application are in all things true and correct.”

https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/pol-sub/2-6f.pdf

People's Concerns About the Muslim Brotherhood

Dear Friends,

I have had several people ask me if they should be afraid of Muslims.  That's a loaded question.  I have given a lot of thought on what to say and I have a few words to share.  I think we need two views:  the big view, which is Islam, and the smaller view, which is individual Muslims

The Big Picture

In the FBI investigation of the Muslim Brotherhood a document was discovered called "An Explanatory Memorandum"

You can buy it on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Explanatory-Memorandum-Archives-Brotherhood-Security/dp/0982294719/) or download it for free (https://www.defendingourrepublic.com/_files/ugd/b3254e_6d712f9b4ec946e1a3c3dabc34b45f62.pdf).

Here is a quote from that work.  You should check this out for yourself.  "Ikhwan" means brothers or brotherhood.

4- Understanding the role of the Muslim Brother in North America:

The process of settlement is a "Civilization-Jihadist Process" with all the word means. The Ikhwan must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and "sabotaging" its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions. .... It is a Muslim's destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes....

This is on pages 16 and 17 of the paperback book, and on page 21 in the PDF.

This is not an extremist view.  It is a plan for implementing Sharia compliant goals.  A good source for understanding Sharia is Islam's Deception: The Truth About Sharia by John D. Guandolo (https://www.amazon.com/Islams-Deception-Truth-About-Sharia/dp/0988724510/)

The issue is Sharia.  You cannot begin to understand what is happening until you have some grasp of Sharia.  My understanding of Sharia is that the major goal of Islam is that all people will be under Sharia, which is a comprehensive system of totalitarianism.  From this perspective, Islam is an existential threat to all governments and all people on the earth.  All man made laws will be dissolved and replaced with Sharia, including the U.S. Constitution.

A former Muslim spoke in Plano recently and he said that Islam is not a religion but a comprehensive collectivist system.  I wrote about his presentation here:  Dr Yassir Eric on Islam (https://voteforcanright.blogspot.com/2025/12/dr-yassir-eric-on-islam.html)

In November I heard Pastor Elija Abraham, a former Muslim, say that Islam is not a religion. In his presentation, entitled "Rise of Islam as a Political Force," he defines Islam thusly:  "It is a socio-political system that uses deity to advance its agenda".

The Communists are still controlling counties and working inside America to bring us down, so Islam is not the only totalitarian system wanting to overthrow our system of government.  If we count the year 622 as the start of Islam, then Islam has been trying to conquer the world for 1400 years.  Look at the Explanatory Memorandum by the Muslim Brotherhood.  Military conquest did not work, so new approaches are being tried, but the goal of world domination is unchanged:  .

Should you be afraid?  No.  Our God has not given us a spirit of fear.  Our victory will be in Jesus.  I suggest strengthening your spiritual life.  I am reading "A Time to Stand" by James D. Heiser, a Lutheran Bishop (https://www.amazon.com/Time-Stand-Faithful-Presence-Ruins/dp/B0FGPJNJVF/).  Be aware and be informed.

The Smaller View

What about individual Muslims?  We are commanded to love our neighbors, so love them.  But if you are Jewish, then current circumstances show you should practice situational awareness and be careful.  Jewish people were massacred in Australia  on Sunday December 14 by two Muslim men. Here's a NY Times article on it:  Australian Police Investigating Sydney Shooting as Terrorism (https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12/14/world/sydney-bondi-beach-shooting?smid=nytcore-ios-share). At least 15 people were killed.

On December 2, 2015, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, targeted a Christmas party of about 80 employees in San Bernardino. Fourteen people were killed and 22 others were seriously injured. Farook was a Muslim and an American-born citizen of Pakistani descent. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_San_Bernardino_attack).  Farook murdered his co-workers.

In Catastrophic Failure by Stephen Couglin, page 20, we read that Major Nidal Hasan gave a PowerPoint presentation to his military colleagues to explain why he was going to wage jihad and kill people.  That was a clear warning sign. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nidal_Hasan)  Watch out for clear warning signs.

Even in everyday life we need to watch out for road-rage.  We need to be sensitive to the possibility of people of any ethnicity going into a rage in a store or social event.  As the moral fiber of our nation unravels, we have to watch out for any person near us going nuts. Charlie Kirk was murdered by a left wing extremist.  The Columbine shooters were teenagers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre).

We have problems and threats from many directions.  You should be an informed citizen.  You should be situationally aware. Do not be naive and think everyone is just like you. 

We need a spiritual revival in America.  We need to start with ourselves and strengthen our faith.  Our hope is in Jesus Christ.  Pray.

Thank you for your time.

Robert

Dr Yassir Eric on Islam

 Dear Friends,

I was invited by a friend to attend a meeting on 10/20/2025 at a Church in Plano.  The speaker was Dr. Yassir Eric, a bishop in the Anglican Church who was raised a Muslim and became a Christian.

 

His talk was amazing on very many levels.  I will give you some highlights in summary.  He was born in Sudan.  He was raised to hate both Christians and Jews.  In his school there was a Christian boy and the speaker and his friends beat the Christian boy so badly that they thought he was dead when they left him.  Dr. Yassir Eric eventually converted to Christianity and he adopted the name "Eric" in honor of the man who converted him.

Dr. Eric's grandfather was the head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan.  His uncle was the chief of the secret police.  When his uncle went to murder a priest, the priest preached the gospel to the chief of the secret police, touched his heart and converted him to Christianity.  Yassir's grandfather had his uncle executed for becoming a Christian.  Later Yassir was converted.  He was imprisoned for two years.  When he was released, this family declared him dead and buried an empty coffin and put up a tombstone with his name on it.  He fled the country, going to Germany where he was educated in theology.  He is now the Right Reverend Dr Yassir Eric.

He explained Islam to us a bit, explaining that it is nothing like our idea of religion.

He explained that in the West, religion is only a part of our lives.  In Islam, their lives are only a part of the Islamic system.  Islam is a collectivist system.  There is no "I" in Islam, there is only "we."  Islam is all encompassing.

Islam is an economic system, a judicial system, a military system, Islam is everything.  Here in the West we really do not understand Islam.  Remember that his grandfather was head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan.  Dr. Yassir Eric knows what he is talking about.  Islam might be a threat, but Muslims are people we should love and pray for.

Dr. Yassir Eric talked about Muslims converting to Christianity.  I was very surprised to hear that our Lord Jesus Christ is appearing in dreams to Muslims and calling them to Him, and they are seeking Jesus and becoming converted.  The stories he told of conversions were amazing.  

Jesus Christ lives and he is personally seeking the lost in the middle east and drawing them to him.  Dr. Yassir Eric said that the fastest growing Christian Church in the world is in Iran.

He spoke for hours and was amazing.  I only provided a few highlights from his talk.  He emphasized how important it is that we cling to Jesus and preach the message of Jesus.

I was so amazed, I was so moved, that I cannot express the feelings I experienced nor convey properly how important it is that we really practice our faith in Jesus Christ.  A Christian church should not be just another social club.  Christianity contains the power of transformation and salvation, and too often people forget that.  Dr. Yassir Eric  not only opened my eyes to Islam, but fanned the flames of my faith.  It was a moving night and I am so grateful to Christ Church on Legacy for bringing Dr. Yassir Eric to Plano.

I hope you found my account of the presentation of some value to you.

Robert 

Comparing Venegoni and Kallas for JP4

 Dear Friends,

The incumbent judge in the Justice of the Peace Court, precinct 4, JP4 for short, is Vincent Venegoni.  He is being challenged for this position by the First Vice-Chair of the CC GOP, Stephen Kallas.  Let's do some comparisons.

Comparisons

Vincent Venegoni is a successful retired businessman.  He owned and ran a security consulting company with hundreds of employees and worked for significant customers.  In interviewing him, I discovered that we had both done work for the same government agency.  I have signed so many secrecy contracts that I don't want to mention the name of that agency, but I can say that world class work is done by that agency and I am impressed by the caliber of work that Vincent Venegoni has done in the private sector.  

Business is hard.  If you have ever tried to start a business, you know how hard it is to be successful.  I don't see evidence of this type of success in the history of Stephen Kallas.  One precinct chair who was doing her own vetting discovered this on the internet and shared it with me:

You can read the details at this website and make your own decisions:

https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/dodge-city-of-mckinney/mckinney-texas-75070/dodge-city-of-mckinney-stephen-kallas-scott-spindle-gus-rodriguez-lie-cheat-shade-tree-720807#comment_1

You can say, "that is just a fluke."  There is a more detailed example of a major failure by Mr. Kallas in this article "Kallas's failure" (https://voteforcanright.blogspot.com/2025/10/kallass-failure.html). The gist of the article is this: he was given an important assignment and the assignment ended in failure.  All the work that went into the "Temporary Election Review Committee" (TERC) went down the drain.  How can Stephen Kallas manage the decisions of a Justice of the Peace Court if he could not manage the Temporary Election Review Committee (TERC) report?  A report for heaven's sake!

You need to understand that the Justice of the Peace does more than sit in judgement.  The Justice of the Peace (JP) manages the court, which has employees and a lot of processes and procedures to follow.  The JP is a manager as well as a judge.  Judge Vincent Venegoni has successfully managed his security consulting company.  We don't see evidence of this level of success in Mr. Kallas's career.

The Judge in Action

I spent a couple of days in the courtroom, observing how the court works.  You must understand that the JP is a judge and makes decisions that affect people's lives.  Here is Judge Venegoni in court.

What I saw in visiting the court was that there is a lot of paperwork associated with each case and Judge Venegoni had studied all the cases and was prepared. At the beginning of each day's work, the judge explained to all the defendants how the court worked, what were the key issues of the cases that they as a group were facing, and what their options were if they were unhappy with his decisions.  He was respectful and informative to the defendants, most of them representing themselves.

I was impressed at how complicated some of the cases became as they unfolded.  The court cases are people's lives and they sometimes become complicated.  Judge Venegoni dealt with the complexities by asking detailed questions of the defendants and the plaintiffs.  I was very impressed by his knowledge and by his humane behavior to the defendants.  Even if a defendant had a case that seemed "open-and-shut," Judge Venegoni listened carefully and asked questions.  The defendants were heard by the whole courtroom, they were listened to attentively by the Judge so that the defendants' side of the story was clearly understood.  The judge was respectful and sensitive to the defendants.

Vetting with Other Precinct Chairs

I told you how one precinct chair discovered the "Ripoff Report" on the internet when considering Mr. Kallas's candidacy for JP4 and shared it with me.  The precinct chairs share information with each other. Over coffee one day I heard a precinct chair describe Mr. Kallas as a bully and a thug.  I have to say that I was stunned when I heard this description.  

I searched my memory and I think it was the April 8, 2024 Executive Committee (EC) meeting when either Colleen Epstein or John Donovan made a motion to vote on the calendar so that the precinct chairs would know when the EC meetings would be held so they could arrange their business travel plans in order to attend.  Stephen Kallas took the microphone away from them and tried to end the meeting without a vote on the motion.  When John Donovan tried to use the microphone, there were many eyewitnesses who say that they saw Stephen Kallas push John and Colleen, and there were videos of the incident.   Maybe this incident was why the PC called Stephen Kallas a thug.  That's a harsh word that I would not have used, but I understand that viewpoint.

When have I seen bullying behavior by Mr. Kallas?  At a Rules Committee meeting I heard a member of the TERC ask the Rules Committee if they could force Mr. Kallas to follow the rules for issuing a majority report.  Mr. Kallas told that lady that she was off the committee because she disagreed with him.  The majority of the committee disagreed with Mr. Kallas, which is why there were two reports, the majority report and Mr. Kallas's report.

Is trying to throw a lady off the TERC because she disagreed with him an act of bullying?  How about if he yelled at her when he was trying to throw her off the committee?  Was ignoring the rules of committees and issuing his personal report as the official report an act of bullying?  Business becomes chaotic and unclear when you don't follow the rules.  Comparing Mr. Kallas's behavior towards the majority of the TERC I am reminded of these words from the Ripoff Report (grammar and spelling is unchanged):

"I brought my vehicle to have it services although I had a service plan Stephen argued with me for 30 minutes that I did Not.  After I called 2 other ligitimate [sic] Dodge Stores they pulled it right up in the Dodge System."

Are illegitimate arguments bad logic or bullying or just bad form?  Mr. Kallas seemed to use bad arguments at the car dealership and with the Temporary Election Review Committee.  That looks like a repeated pattern of either bad judgment or bad reasoning.  I shudder at the thought of Mr. Kallas sitting on the bench as a judge and making decisions affecting people's lives.

Judge Vincent Venegoni is a successful retired business man who is Justice of the Peace because he is civic minded and wants to serve the public.   We are lucky that he is willing to continue to serve.

Thank you for your patience,  

Robert

Vote on the Constitutional Amendments

 Time is running out on the vote for the proposed changes to the Texas Constitution.  Today is the last day to vote.  If you have not voted, copy the suggestions in this post and hurry to your voting place.

I have reviewed a couple of sources that I respect, put their recommendations into a spreadsheet, and added my own recommendations.  The amendments are called "propositions".

Because most of the votes are Yes,  I have highlighted the No's in yellow to make it easier to mark the ballot / sample ballot.

Here is where you can find your sample ballot for your precinct, you must know your precinct: https://www.collincountytx.gov/Elections/sample-ballots?electionID=67

On proposition 11 I differed from Texas Policy Research and Texas Eagle Forum because I think the older folks should get their tax relief.  

I was tempted to go against their recommendations on Proposition 3, about denying bail, even after reading what the experts said.  But then I read what JoAnn Fleming said and she  persuaded me to vote Yes on Proposition 3.  Here is what JoAnn said:

 

 

If you would like to read for yourselves the explanations for their recommendations, you can look here.  I have reviewed them and only differed on one point because I want that tax relief that they thought was unfair.

Texas Policy Research

https://www.texaspolicyresearch.com/texas-2025-constitutional-amendments-explained-ballot-guide-vote-recommendations/

 

Texas Eagle Forum

https://mcusercontent.com/0a6e189a54bb42a6b52b5729e/files/9f20686d-0717-fb1b-69b3-c9c7c5fd3f78/2025_NOV_PROPS.pdf

 

Hustle to your voting place.  If you can get inside by 7  pm then they will allow you to stay and vote.

Kallas's failure

Dear Friends,
This year the CC GOP sponsored a Leadership 101 class at the party headquarters.  It is almost as though the party realized that the previous party chair, Shelby Williams, was such a flop that we needed an explanation of leadership.  I can give you a good example of leadership in the CC GOP:  Lee Breckenridge-Moore, the HD89 caucus chair.  I need to explain her leadership to everyone because even precinct chairs who were in the meetings where she exhibited her leadership probably did not understand what they were seeing.  One problem in understanding is that the events showcasing her leadership dragged out over several months.  Another problem in understanding is a lack of knowledge of parliamentary procedure.

Let me give you an example of knowledge needed to understand an observation:  when watching a chess game, knowledge of chess is necessary to understand what is observed.  One needs to know opening, middle-game, and end-game theory as well as strategy and tactics.  Without knowledge, one can see without understanding.  Parliamentary procedure is a bit like that:  without knowledge you do not understand what is happening in front of you.

I will tell you an interesting story of a battle between right and wrong.  I will present to you the story of the conflicting reports from the Temporary Election Review Committee (TERC).  This committee was formed by CC GOP chairman Abraham George after the May 2023 local elections.  This committee was created in the May 8, 2023, Executive Committee (EC) meeting, but the reports were not presented until the October 9, 2023 EC meeting.  Yes, it took 5 months for the committee to complete its work and present its report.  There was a lot of conflict involved in presenting the report.  It is important to understand the conflicts and maneuvers in order to understand what was happening in the Collin County Republican Party (CC GOP).

Here is a fact that everyone needs to understand: per Robert's Rules, 51:2 “a report of a board or committee can contain only what has been agreed to by a majority vote” (page 479 in the latest edition).  But Stephen Kallas, the Chair of the Temporary Election Review Committee (TERC), wrote his own personal report and then tried to pass his personal report to the Executive Committee (EC) as though it was the committee report. Lee Breckenridge-Moore was a member of the committee and she believed that the rules should be followed and the report presented to the EC should be the report endorsed by the majority of the committee.  Lee tried so hard to get party leadership to enforce the rules, but party leadership played dumb. Then Lee reached out by email to the entire EC to put the problem out in the open.  Stephen Kallas, the committee chair, then issued his own email to the EC. Here is what he said in his email to the EC:  "I want to assure you that despite what you may have seen or heard, only one authorized report from that committee is the one I authored as the Chairman."  Because he wrote the report it is "authorized"?  What nonsense.  The committee chair Stephen Kallas should have known the rules well enough to have known that his report needed to be termed the "Minority Report" because the Majority Report is what was endorsed by the majority of the committee.

The dueling reports came to a head at a very special EC meeting.  In the October 9, 2023, EC meeting CC GOP Chairman Abraham George resigned to run for Candy Noble's seat in HD89.  All the candidates challenging the Collin County State Legislature incumbents were introduced and spoke.  Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke.  Big events broke out into the open that night, and that is when the report of the Temporary Election Review Committee was presented.  Both the majority report and the minority report, authored by Stephen Kallas, were presented, but it was not done properly. A minority report is supposed to be identified as the minority report and Stephen Kallas was avoiding that label.

Stephen Kallas presented after Lee and he finished by making a motion that his report be accepted by the EC.  At this point I, Robert Canright, stood and called "point of order."  Mr. Kallas objected saying that he had a motion on the floor. I said that a point of order is an interrupting motion.  The new Temporary Chairman of the party, John Myers heard me out.  John Myers consulted with the parliamentarian who said that accepting the report would put us in violation of our own Rules and Bylaws.

What was so different in the Kallas report?  Mr. Kallas proposed taking away from the EC the power to endorse Republicans in local elections and giving that power to donors and "kingmakers."  Here is exactly what he put into his report:

Recommendation 4:  Investigate the feasibility and efficacy of an endorsing convention.
Benefit:  Including the PACs and Clubs builds the team and allows for better fundraising opportunities.

Lee Breckenridge-Moore protected the power of the precinct chairs in the EC.  She battled for months to get the true report heard. By not "accepting" the Kallas report, the Candidate Committee was saved.  Lee showed leadership and Stephen left me puzzled on how a man so knowledgeable on Robert's Rules appeared to not know that a committee report must be approved by the majority of the committee.

Did the party under Chairman Shelby Williams try to leverage Lee's leadership skills?  No.  Chairman Williams forced a second election for HD89 Caucus Chair, seeming to want her gone from a leadership position.  The fallout for Mr. Kallas in botching the TERC report was that Mr. Kallas was promoted to chair of the Rules Committee.  Chairman Williams seemed to get everything backwards.  No wonder the party had a Leadership 101 class.

And the work of the TERC?  All the hours of testimony?  After the effort failed to let wealthy king makers choose the party endorsements, our leadership's interest in the committee report disappeared.  All that work was ignored.  It seems to me that Stephen Kallas led the TERC into failure because their work was ignored.

Thank you for your patience.  This is an episode in our party that is worth remembering and understanding. There are, of course, others in the party who also exhibit leadership.  Matt Thorsen in HD 67 for example led the successful effort to censure Representative Jeff Leach.

Some people tell me to forget about the past.  What is past is done, so forget about it.  But how can you make decisions today without knowing what  bad events in history might repeat?  For example, how can Stephen Kallas manage the decisions of a Justice of the Peace Court if he could not manage the Temporary Election Review Committee report?

Thank you for your patience.
Robert

Key Point:  The rules pertaining to committees and their reports provided us protection.  When Shelby Williams turned many committees into "teams," he stripped us of the protections we have in committees.  Turning committees into teams stripped us of rights and privileges, diminishing the EC.

footnote: on page 483 of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, 12th Edition, we have these pertinent paragraphs regarding committee reports.
51:13 Motion to Adopt an Entire Report
51:14 Equivalence of Terms, Incorrect Motions
51:16 “Another error – less common, but dangerous – is to move … that it ‘be accepted’ …”
Precinct chairs should have a copy of Robert's Rules and read pertinent parts, otherwise you can get swindled.

https://www.amazon.com/Roberts-Rules-Order-Newly-Revised/dp/1541736699/