Heated county GOP gathering leads to harsh words, walkouts

A new set of rules for decorum resulted in three attendees being escorted out of the Bandera County Republican Party meeting Thursday by a constable as tempers flared and members traded barbs with the party chairman.

More attendees left in solidarity, walking out of the session on their own.

The chain of events began when Chairman Conrad Striegl said the GOP lacked representation at the 88th Legislature and an audience member asked, “Why don’t you go out and fight then?”

The audience member didn’t raise her hand to be recognized before posing her query.

Striegl at the beginning of the meeting at the Medina Community Center noted any attendees looking to speak must raise his or her hand first to be recognized.

“I was out there fighting,” Striegl said. “I was the only one in the group who was there.”

Striegl cited his efforts including more than 40 hours working on Senate Bill 14, which he said led to a “transurrection” that shut down the Legislature.

SB 14, which was passed by both state houses and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott June 2, bans gender-affirming treatments for children under 18 who identify as transgender.

He described his interactions with protestors against SB 14 at the state capital as being “accosted by Satan.”

During the Thursday gathering, tensions grew between some attendees and Striegl when the party chairman indirectly addressed those who offered opposing views.

“I see someone shaking his head. In this room there are Democrats,” Striegl said, sparking an uproar that led to nearly half the audience leaving the community center.

Gerald Grohman, who sat in the front row, countered Striegl; however, several party members informed Grohman that he had not been recognized to speak.

Grohman and his wife, Shirley, said they voted for Democrats many years ago, but the pair have predominantly supported Republicans during the last decade. They rebutted claims suggesting they are Democrats trying to infiltrate the local GOP wing.

Shirley Grohman said her husband has cast ballots for the best candidate to do the job in local elections, noting those have been Republican office-seekers.

Precinct 2 Constable Greg Spengler, who escorted the three audience members from the meeting, said he’s tried to attend every local GOP session over the past several years, acting both as an engaged resident and in his official capacity as a peace officer to help keep the peace.

“I’m there just to keep everything civil,” he said. “I’m there to attend and listen. Then, if people get out of hand, then I step in. This is basically the first time during a meeting that I’ve had to do anything.”

Some questioned whether the rules of the meeting were clear to all.

“This is exceedingly regrettable,” Striegl said when a woman attending her first local GOP gathering asked if this was how the events usually unfolded. “All I said was there were Democrats in this room. I have their voting records. They voted Democrat.”

Another audience member, Perry Lane, left with those ordered out of the center. While she had her hand raised to be recognized, she said Striegl told her he knew what she was going to ask and refused to call on her.

“All opinions should be heard. People should be allowed to state their opinions without being berated by the chairman and forced out of the meeting,” Lane said. “We do need to have organization. To be called upon, you should raise your hand, but you should also be recognized if you do that. He (Striegl) shouldn’t just pick on certain people.”

That wasn’t the last time the rules of decorum led to a dispute Thursday.

When Striegl turned the meeting over to the audience, seeking questions about the legislative session, the conversation veered toward property-tax relief — something top of mind for GOP leaders from local municipalities to state officials.

The local party chair began to question what he considered a lack of relief by lawmakers to taxpayers with the $32.7 billion state surplus and ever-growing state budget.

Further, he questioned why taxpayers were only seeing about $12.7 billion in relief while Texas school districts will get $7 billion.

When asked how to solve this, Striegl said it was up to voters, saying 60% of the county voted for District 24 state Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton, and District 53 state Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Kerrville.

He accused both Texas leaders of favoring property taxes.

However, Striegl also accused Bandera County commissioners – without naming anyone – of contributing to both Flores’ and Murr’s campaigns.

“So, now you see why they’re angry with me specifically,” Striegl said. “The line’s got to be drawn somewhere, ladies and gentlemen. We can’t win this fight without voters.”

Bandera County Precinct 3 Commissioner Jack Moseley had attended the meeting Thursday, but he left to speak with the group escorted out by Spengler.

Moseley entered the room just as Striegl attempted to adjourn the meeting.

“I was just told that I voted to raise (property) taxes, and that is not true,” Moseley said.

A back-and-forth ensued between the county commissioner and the party leaders over whether Moseley been recognized to speak with the party parliamentarian comparing the procedure to that of Commissioners Court.

“This meeting is over. You have to leave, so with that, if there’s no other questions from the voters, I appreciate it,” Striegl said before another precinct chair called for a vote to adjourn.

The Bulletin reached out to Striegl for comment regarding the issues addressed during and after the meeting. A more-than 1,200word response was given with the stipulation it be printed entirely or not at all.

The Bulletin offered to print a paragraph and direct readers to our website for the full quote. Striegl declined, saying “all or nothing” of his response would be in print.

The party meets next on Thursday, August 11, at the Flying L Events center. More information can be found at banderacountyrepublicanparty. com.