Resolution Honoring Dan Comstock

WHEREAS, Daniel Martin Comstock was born in Seldon, Kansas on October 6, 1941, and was a devoted son and brother to his family, including ten siblings, seven of whom he spent 12 years helping his mother raise; and

WHEREAS, Dan learned the values of integrity, strong work ethic, respect for others, being a good neighbor, and kindness to all, values that remained with him throughout his life; and

WHEREAS, Dan and Patricia met in church and married November 25, 1972, and shared a life devoted to worshipping the Lord as Catholic Christians and members of the St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic

Community; and

WHEREAS, Dan worked in the oil industry for 58 years and received numerous service and mentor awards; and

WHEREAS, Dan was an unabashed, passionate patriot who thoroughly understood and firmly believed in the principles upon which this country was founded, and nothing gave Dan more joy than to be engaged in contributing to our representative form of government; and

WHEREAS, one of the greatest joys of Dan’s life was all the wonderful people that he came to know and work with in his beloved Republican Party; and

WHEREAS, Dan served as a Precinct Chair and Election Judge for Precinct 759 in SD 7 for 12 years before recently being redistricted to SD15, and was a member of the Local Government

Committee and served as Chairman; and

WHEREAS, Dan Comstock, who placed his trust in Jesus, “the way, the truth, and the life,” returned to the Lord on July 14, 2022, now

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Harris County Republican Party hereby honors Dan

Comstock for his admirable life of service to God, family and country; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Harris County Republican Party offers prayers for and extends heartfelt condolences to the family of Dan Comstock; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Resolution be included in the Minutes of the Harris County Republican Party Executive Committee meeting this third day of October, 2022.

Respectfully submitted,

Melissa Rowell, Pct 480

James Buntrock, Pct 726, SD7 Chair	Bill Ely, Pct 844	Buffie Ingersoll, Pct 262
Vergel Cruz, Pct 578, SREC Secretary	Tara Beulah, Pct 909	Richard Urdiales, Pct 671
Sean Cheben, Pct 15, SD15 Chair	Tom Bazan, Pct 661	Mark McCaig, Pct 687
Robert Jeter, Pct 662, SD11 Chair	Sarah Singleton, Pct 143	Ralph Fite, Pct 499
Kristin Cobb, Pct 690	J.R. Haas, Pct 684	Jim McSpadden, Pct 625
Mike Palmquist, Pct 633	George Porter, Pct 734	Russell Rush, Pct 155
Mark Goloby, Pct 398	Tom Zakes, Pct 221	Susan Flores, Pct 759
Drake Cameron, Pct 805	Cody McCubbin, Pct 442	Matthew Cowan, Pct 311
Linda Nuttall, Pct 622	Curtis McKinley, Pct 478

Harris County Republican Party Resolution in Support of Commissioners Ramsey and Cagle’s Efforts to Stand Up for Harris County Residents

Whereas, violent crime in Harris County has dramatically increased since 2018 with violent criminals being released into our neighborhoods on multiple and low bonds;

Whereas, the budget for Harris County public safety in recent years has not adequately funded additional constables to patrol Harris County neighborhoods;

Whereas, increased funding for public safety, under Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s leadership, has instead gone for trees, lighting, and early childhood education rather than increasing “boots on the ground” for neighborhood policing to protect our county; 

Whereas, Harris County residents are struggling to make ends meet due to an inflation rate that is at a 40-year high and 26% of Houstonians are struggling to pay their electric bills;

Whereas, Harris County taxpayers have experienced a dramatic increase in their property tax values this year leading to an increase in the property taxes they will pay annually at a time they can least afford it;

Whereas, Harris County tax revenues will increase by over $245 million due to the increase in residential and commercial property tax values unless the tax rate is reduced significantly;

Whereas, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Commissioners Adrian Garcia and Rodney Ellis have refused to negotiate in good faith with Commissioners Ramsey and Cagle to reduce the property tax burden placed on the taxpayers and add additional constables to the workforce to make our county safer;

Whereas, if Harris County residents and taxpayers are having to make difficult decisions on how to make do with less amidst rising costs, Harris County government should do the same; therefore,

Be it resolved, that the Harris County Republican Party Executive Committee supports and commends the recent actions of Commissioners Tom Ramsey and Jack Cagle when they recently broke the quorum of Harris County Commissioners Court in an effort to stop the wasteful spending of Lina Hidalgo, Rodney Ellis and Adrian Garcia on items that do not prioritize the funding of public safety including adding constables to police neighborhoods and reduce the overall tax burden of the taxpayers.

THE HARRIS COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY SUPPORTS MAKING HARRIS COUNTY SAFE AGAIN

Whereas, in February 2019, the Harris County Republican Party Executive Committee passed a resolution supporting the allocation of sufficient resources to law enforcement, including the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, in order to keep Harris County citizens safe and see that justice is done for all Harris County citizens, including crime victims and survivors. 

Whereas, in February 2019, the Harris County Republican Party Executive Committee expressed its support for bail in accordance with the Texas Constitution, including bail by sufficient surety with the constitutional exceptions as outlined in Article I, Section 11. 

Whereas, over the last five years, homicides have dramatically increased in Harris County:

2018	436
2019	491
2020	662
2021	720
2022	491 (through September 15)

Whereas, over the strenuous objection of the Harris County District Attorney, Rodney Ellis, personally, outside of the scope of his authority as a county commissioner settled the ODonnell, et al. v. Harris County case, which challenged misdemeanor bail policies. 

Whereas, in 2019, Karakatsanis filed the Russell v. Harris County case, which challenges the Harris County felony bail system. The Civil Rights Corps sued Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, who is represented by Murray Fogler, the lawyer for Arnold Ventures — the group that has funded the woke criminal justice movement that has devastated New York. Gonzalez continues to advocate for federal court intervention into the county’s bail system.

Whereas, in March 2020, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Governor Greg Abbott stopped Lina Hidalgo’s wholesale release of all Harris County Jail inmates — General Paxton intervened in Russell and Governor Abbott issued executive order GA-13. 

Whereas, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals en banc decided Daves v. Dallas County, Texas, a case brought by Karakatsanis to challenge the bail system in Dallas County. In Daves, the Court vacated the federal district court’s injunction that controlled the work of the Dallas County bail system. The Court held that, under the Texas Constitution, judges exercise state judicial power and act for the state. The Court directed the federal district court to apply abstention principles to determine whether federal judicial intervention in the Dallas County bail system is prohibited and signals that is likely true.

Whereas, based on the Fifth Circuit’s opinion in Daves, the ODonnell consent decree should be dissolved and should not have been entered – it was wrong then and it is wrong today.

Since the ODonnell consent decree was entered on November 21, 2019, twelve law enforcement officers have been murdered in Harris County:

Officer	Agency	End of Watch
Deputy Constable Jennifer Chavis	Harris County Precinct 7	April 2, 2022
Deputy Darren Almendarez	Harris County Sheriff’s Office	March 31, 2022
Deputy Constable Neil Adams	San Jacinto County Constable’s Office, Precinct 1	February 23, 2022
Sergeant Ramon Gutierrez	Harris County Sheriff’s Office	January 24, 2022
Corporal Charles Galloway	Harris County Precinct 5	January 23, 2022
Deputy Constable Kareen Anthony Atkins	Harris County Precinct 4	October 16, 2021
Senior Police Officer Bill Jeffrey	Houston Police Department	September 20, 2021
Sergeant Sean Sebastian Rios	Houston Police Department	November 9, 2020
Sergeant Harold Lloyd Preston	Houston Police Department	October 20, 2020
Investigator Lemuel Delray Bruce	Houston Fire Marshal’s Office	October 16, 2020
Sergeant Christopher Charles Lewis Brewster	Houston Police Department	December 7, 2019
Sergeant Kaila Marie Sullivan	Nassau Bay Police Department	December 10, 2019

Whereas, Harris County has 55 capital murder defendants on bond right now.

Whereas, Harris County Deputies have been forced to sue Harris County because of unsafe working conditions. A female sergeant working in the Harris County jail was sexually assaulted by an inmate.

Whereas, as of September 1, 2022, Harris County felony courts have 42,815 active cases pending and the Harris County misdemeanor courts have 33,072 active cases pending.

Whereas, since January 1, 2019, Lina Hidalgo, Rodney Ellis, and Adrian Garcia have created a government bureaucracy by creating government departments (Justice Administration Department, Office of Justice and Safety, Office of Managed Assigned Counsel) that work to undermine law and order while failing to fully fund law enforcement; therefore, be it

Resolved, that the Harris County Republican Party supports the allocation of sufficient resources to law enforcement, including the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the Harris County Constables, and the Houston Police Department in order to keep Harris County citizens safe and see that justice is done for all Harris County citizens, including crime victims and survivors.

Be it further Resolved, that the Harris County Republican Party supports the allocation of sufficient resources to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, including enough financial support to fund requisite staffing to address the Harris County case backlog that was created by the democrat judges.

Be it further Resolved, that the Harris County Republican Party supports the election of Alexandra del Moral Mealer as Harris County Judge, Jack Morman as Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 2, and Jack Cagle as Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 4 to make Harris County safe again and provide law enforcement with the necessary funding.

Be it further Resolved, that the Harris County Republican Party supports the election of Republican judges for every criminal and civil court in Harris County.

Harris County Local Government Platform Adoption Resolution

Whereas: A party platform exists to guide Republican activists’ messaging and actions; and,

Whereas: Many local officials run for office as Republicans and then support agendas in office that are not consistent with our principles and beliefs as Republicans; and,

Whereas: The Texas GOP platform is the authoritative statement of our beliefs as pertains to local government issues, but in many cases may not address issues that are specific to Harris County; and,

Whereas: A short platform for local government would help Republican voters and activists to hold their local officials accountable.

Therefore,

Be it resolved: That the Harris County Republican Party adopts the following Local Government Platform for the 2022-2024 term of the Executive Committee, with the understanding that this platform can be amended or expanded at any time by future resolutions as needs in Harris County arise.

Principles:

1. Every level of local government should be as responsive as possible to the voters they represent.
2. Every local government should respect property rights by refusing to enact burdensome regulations and taxes.
3. Every local government should oppose all wasteful, unnecessary, or otherwise superfluous public expenditures.
4. Every local official should uphold a commitment to transparency and open governance. 
5. Every local official should be committed to delivering high quality constituent service at all times.

Harris County Platform:

1. Republican County Commissioners should vote to oppose, or if there are only two Republicans on the Commissioner’s Court, deny quorum, for ad valorem tax increases under SB2.
2. Republican County Commissioners should vote to remove the office of Election Administrator for the county and return elections to the County Clerk and Tax Assessor’s offices.
3. Expenditures for flood mitigation should be based only on science and engineering, and not social or equity concerns.
4. Taxpayer money should not be used to defend illegal immigrants from the enforcement of our nation’s laws and immigration policies.

City of Houston Platform:

1. We oppose a strong-mayor form of government because it politicizes the provision of basic city services to all citizens of Houston. We support proposals to allow individual or groups of City Council members to add items to a meeting agenda without approval from the Mayor.
2. The Houston police chief, and if one is ever hired, a City Manager, should be hired by the City Council and subject to retention elections at regular intervals.
3. Component units such as TIRZes or corporate entities created by the City should not be able to issue bond debt without approval from the voters.
4. We oppose the expansion of existing management districts within the City without approval of the voters in the areas being added to the management districts.
5. All subsidiary entities (component units and management districts) should have their meeting notices, agendas, and minutes posted in a common location on the City website.
6. The City of Houston should not contract for or participate in any lobbying or advocacy activities conducted by the Texas Municipal League, which represents the interests of governments and not of taxpayers.

Small Cities and Special Purpose Districts:

1. All small cities and districts should have their meeting notices, agendas, and minutes posted electronically.
2. All elections should take place on the common ballot in the election run by the County. Local governments should not run their own elections.
3. Firms should not be eligible to bid for projects funded by a bond issue if they contributed to a campaign or PAC in the election that approved that bond.
4. Small cities should not contract for or participate in any lobbying or advocacy activities conducted by the Texas Municipal League, which represents the interests of governments and not of taxpayers.

School Districts:

1. All elections should take place on the common ballot in the election run by the County. School districts should not run their own elections.
2. Firms should not be eligible to bid for projects funded by a bond issue if they contributed to a campaign or PAC in the election that approved that bond.
3. School districts should not contract for or participate in any lobbying or advocacy activities conducted by the Texas Association of School Boards, which represents the interests of governments and not of taxpayers.

Local Law Enforcement:

1. We oppose any efforts to defund the police.
2. Law enforcement entities should cooperate with immigration enforcement authorities.
3. As our population grows, police departments should grow at a commensurate rate to ensure adequate coverage of all areas by law enforcement.
4. Local law enforcement should not conduct property seizure or asset forfeiture without a criminal conviction.
5. Law enforcement entities should not conduct no-knock raids unless they are intervening in a life-threatening emergency.
6. We support the continuance of the Contract Deputy Program partnerships between Constable offices and local neighborhoods and homeowners’ associations.

Respectfully submitted as a report of the Local Government Committee.

Local Government Endorsements for November 2022 Elections

Whereas: The Harris County Republican Party can, either by action of its Advisory Board or Executive Committee, endorse candidates for nonpartisan offices based on their qualifications, Republican voting history, and the unique considerations of each race; and,

Whereas: Local elections will take place on the November 2022 general election ballot, giving us an opportunity to recommend down ballot candidates to voters who are already planning to vote for the Republican ticket; and,

Whereas: The Local Government Committee has interviewed applicants with Republican voting histories for Huffman ISD, Tomball ISD, and the North Harris County Regional Water Authority and has voted to recommend these candidates; and,

Whereas: Each candidate recommended for endorsement was recommended by a Harris County Republican Party precinct chair and completed the application process; now

Therefore,

Be it resolved: That the Harris County Republican Party endorses the following candidates:

Tomball ISD

Position 2: Stephanie Lopez

Position 3: Jennifer Kratky

Position 4: Billy Moore

Huffman ISD

Position 1: Gregory Nason

Position 2: Barbara Carroll

Position 3: Robert Baten

North Harris County Regional Water Authority

Position 2: David Barker

Position 3: Melissa Rowell

Position 4: Mark Ramsey

Klein ISD

Position 6 Kristin Cobb

Respectfully submitted,

Scott Bowen, Local Government Committee Chairman

Opposition to Harris County Propositions A, B, and C

Whereas: Propositions A, B, and C on the Harris County general election ballot will allow Harris County to issue a combined $1.2 billion of new debt, to be borne by taxpayers with a predicted increase of $0.012 per year for every $100 of valuation; and,

Whereas: Republican County Commissioners Tom Ramsey and Jack Cagle voted against adding these propositions to the ballot, citing that no list of projects has been issued for these bonds; and,

Whereas: Lina Hidalgo and Democrat commissioners plan to use the campaign for these bonds to drive up turnout in heavily Democrat precincts; now

Therefore,

Be it resolved: That the Harris County Republican Party urges all Republican voters to vote in all races, to the very bottom of their ballots, and to oppose Harris County Propositions A, B, and C.

Be it Further

Resolved: That the Harris County Republican Party opposes City of Houston Propositions A-G, which would collectively add $478 million of new debt to Houston taxpayers.

Respectfully submitted,

Scott Bowen, Local Government Committee Chairman

A request to the legislature …

Please mandate a new Metro election 

1. Whereas, Houston Metro has a multi-billion dollar plan to expand its fixed guideway program based on the traditional American commuting pattern, including $2 billion for 25 miles of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the “University Corridor”;

2. Whereas, Inflation, now hovering around 9%, has rendered Metro’s construction cost estimates invalid since voters approved its long range plan in 2019;

3. Whereas, A new Census Bureau report shows that the COVID pandemic has increased the percentage of Americans working from home from barely eight to almost 18 percent; 

(See: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/people-working-from-home.html)

4. Whereas, the common use of computers for “remote work”, spurred by the pandemic, has given working from home a growing appeal; 

5. Whereas, Metro has suffered a decline in ridership since its peak in 2001 when Metro relied solely on flexible buses, in spite of billions in capital investment spent this century for light rail and BRT, Be it RESOLVED, That the Harris County Republican Party urges the Harris County delegation to the Texas legislature to pass a bill requiring Metro to suspend additional spending on fixed guideways, rail and BRT, until Metro has prepared new cost and ridership estimates based on inflation and the shrinking market for mass transit service, and received voter approval in a new election.