Challenges To County & Senate District Conventions, Part 1

[Earlier today, we announced that we would be examining challenges filed to the Texas Democratic Party County & Senate District Conventions. This is Part 1 in an ongoing series of a detailed examination of these challenges. In order to preserve the privacy of the challengers and others, Capitol Annex has elected not to list the names of those who filed the challenges or those who are listed in specific challenges as having violated Party rules. This installment addresses challenges from Senate District 19 Bexar County and Senate District 17 Fort Bend County—VL]

Contrary to previously published media accounts that the challenges to Texas’ senate district and county conventions were relatively minor in nature, the challenges themselves, released last week to Capitol Annex by the Texas Democratic Party, tell a different story.

In the Fort Bend County section of Senate District 17, for example, at least two challenges allege blatant violations of Democratic Party rules that could at worst invalidate much of the business of the Senate District Convention and at best cast a pall over the convention process.

One challenge filed by a Missouri City resident and two challenges filed by Sugar Land residents to the SD 17 Fort Bend County Convention alleges that the all-important Credentials and Nominations Committees were improperly seated, and were in fact improperly named–possibly by a single individual. Party rules state that the credentials committees must be selected from among the delegates to the convention by the County or SD Committee at its statutory meeting following the first primary. The challenges further allege that a Parliamentarian assigned to the SD 17 convention actually announced that any committee not chosen in accordance with the TDP rules was powerless to act in any way.

The SD 17 challenges also reflect significant confusion over “advisory guidelines” sent out by the state party on Friday, March 28–the day before conventions were set to be held. Specifically, one challenge alleges that the credentials committee in SD 17 for Fort Bend County did not meet at least 24 hours before the time the convention was to convene, pursuant to Party rules.

The challenge by the Missouri City delegate also alleges that the delegate was denied the opportunity to present a challenge to the Convention.

The same challenge also alleges that the makeup of the Credentials and Nominations Committees were deliberately skewed and that certain geographical areas of the county were significantly under-represented.

One of the challenges filed by a Sugar Land Delegate also alleges that the Temporary Chair of the Convention in SD 17 Fort Bend County publicly announced that he had personally selected the Credentials Committee members. That challenge also alleges that the Chair of the Credentials Committee in SD 17 Fort Bend County knew the committee was improperly constituted:

“Mr. [Credentials Chair] said that he ‘knew’ this was going to be an issue.”

The challenge also states that the Parliamentarian reportedly sent to the meeting by the state party “replied that, under those circumstances, all actions by the committee would be void.” The challenge also includes two affidavits of witnesses that indicate they personally heard the individual who selected and appointed the committees saying that he did so.

The challenge further notes:

“This issue was pointed out again at the Credentials Committee and the warning was sounded again, this time by a Parliamentarian from the TDP. Still the individuals in charge did not heed that warning that the violation of the rules continued.”

The challenge also quotes a Press Release from TDP Chairman Boyd Ritchie in which Ritchie noted “The Party has never stated any intention to set up a verification process of this nature because Party rules already provide for “verification” through our credentials process,” and goes on to state:

“Our Party Chairman, in public statements, has acknowledged that “verification” is performed through the credentials process. As set out above, there was no validly constituted Credentials Committee for SD 17 of Fort Bend County.”

In Senate District 19, Bexar County, a litany of problems and rules violations were discussed in challenges by San Antonio delegates. One delegate was prompted to make note of “unethical and unsavory procedures.”

One SD 19 Bexar County challenges alleges that there was no temporary roll listing all delegates and alternates avaliable to the Credentials Committee, registration was not accessible to the disabled, and that 50 precincts were missing from what data was present.

The same challenge alleged the facility in which the convention was conducted was so sub-standard that it was without air conditioning, sufficient bathroom capacity, and was evacuated by firefighters and that fire marshals denied delegates access to the building. It is also alleged that the owner of the building denied delegates with children permission to enter the building with their children.

The challenge also alleges: over 200 delegate registrations were challenged and destroyed because of non-credentialing; business of the convention was improperly conducted before the credentials committee certified the permanent roll.

In addition, it is alleged that two convention leaders “falsified the Convention Minutes” with regard to the preseidential preference of two delegates.

Another challenge filed in SD 19 Bexar County alleges that the convention failed to maintain sign-in sheets to verify the number of persons who signed in and their presidential preference.

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