GOP chair candidate faces election-law charges

The former Bandera County GOP chairman has landed in legal hot water again, accused of violating state election laws even while he remains on the March 5 ballot to reclaim his old seat.

Conrad Striegl is set for arraignment April 2 in the Bandera County Court presided by Judge Richard Evans. There, Striegl faces seven counts of misleading use of an office title, according to paperwork filed with the Bandera County District Clerk’s Office.

The charges are a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year behind bars or a fine not to exceed $4,000, or both.

At issue is the use of the word “reelect” during a political campaign in which the challenger may have once held that office, but is not the incumbent. The Texas Election Code spells out the specifications for including the word in campaign advertising.

According to an affidavit filed by Shirley Grohman, a candidate for the Lakehills GOP Precinct 2 chairmanship, Striegl is alleged to have used various iterations of “reelect Conrad Striegl” on Facebook, in person and on campaign signs.

Streigl “knowingly represented in a campaign communication that he holds a public office that he does not hold at the time the representation is made,” according to the affidavit.

Striegl was elected the Republican Party chairman in March 2021, but later stepped down following a court case.

In September, Striegl and then-party Treasurer Cari Rene Leith were ordered by a judge to resign from their positions following their no-contest plea to a charge of document fraud.

The pair received probation through December.

Striegl was replaced by Dave Allen, who currently chairs the party and is not seeking reelection.

Mark Miller is running against Striegl.

Striegl, who did not return the Bulletin’s request for comment, posted on Facebook on Feb. 22: “I was elected as the Republican chair in March of 2021, and sat out for six months. Now I am running for reelection. The accepted definition of reelection is ‘the act of electing someone again to the same position’ per Cambridge dictionary. At no time did I ever claim that I was the sitting chair. I have every right as per the definition to use the term reelection.”

On Feb. 25, Striegl posted a picture standing next to campaign sign with blue masking tape covering a space large enough for two letters followed by the phrase “-ELECT.”

Meanwhile, in a case unrelated to the current legal challenge, Striegl is charged with altering and falsifying digital records on the Texas Secretary of State website.

A jury trial to hear the Class A misdemeanor is set for June 18.

Early voting ends Friday. Election day is Tuesday.