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.
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.
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.
