THE SPECTATOR: YOU BE THE JUDGE

  

After my editorial last week about the City of Brenham and School Board races, a number of people have asked if I had any proof of this “so-called conspiracy” involving local churches, Republican groups and other citizens groups.  I’ve decided to just lay it all out, and let you decide for yourselves.  I apologize in advance for its length.

First, I want you to know I believe that all of the candidates running in the City of Brenham and Brenham School Board election are basically good people.  But I also believe half of them, unfortunately, have become caught up in a deep web of politics spun by several groups and individuals.  And even some of these groups have been manipulated by their own members.  This is what I have learned:

1. In January at a Washington County Republican Club meeting, a local pastor announced that Jared Krenek had filed for reelection to the Brenham School Board and said “we need to find someone to run against him.”  That pastor is heavily involved with the groups “Let Our Teachers Teach”, and “Texas Church Leaders”.
2. In February, the Senior pastor of Champion Fellowship Church shows up at City Hall representing one of the City Council challengers, to draw for his position on the May ballot.  That pastor is heavily involved with “Texas Church Leaders” and “Texas Leadership Summit”.
3. In early March, the Washington County Republican Women host a meeting for all of the candidates to introduce themselves.  At the check-in table are yard signs for only certain candidates.  In fairness, the President of the Club has acknowledged that this should not have been allowed, and she would have stopped it had she been there.
4. Later in March, the Texas Church Leaders announce that after reviewing the School Board candidates’ answers to their questions, they are endorsing three of them.
5. One of those candidates, when asked about advertising on KWHI, tells us that he had been told that Citizens United for Brenham Schools (CUBS) was paying for everything.
6. In early April, a representative of CUBS purchases political advertising for two of the School Board candidates, but doesn’t want to identify who is paying for it.  Only after checking with an attorney does he agree that it is the law and complies.
7. KWHI is sent ads recorded by two of the candidates, and CUBS says as soon as they get the audio for the third candidate, they will send it.
8. During a forum hosted by Texas Leadership Summit at Champion Fellowship Church, yard signs for certain candidates are seen in the church foyer.
9. At that same forum at Champion’s, a candidate tells the audience that they really need to vote for at least two of the three, referring to the three candidates endorsed by Texas Church Leaders.
10. During our KWHI forum, when the candidates were asked “have you accepted any form of aid – financial, operational, strategic, or otherwise – from political special interest groups; particularly the Washington County Republican Club/Party, the Texas Leadership Summit, Moms for America, and Texas Church Leaders,” they all said “no”.
11. At a forum hosted by the Washington County Republican Club, illegal “push cards” supporting those same three School Board candidates are placed on all of the tables by a Club member who also represents CUBS.  The cards say the three candidates are “Endorsed by Citizens United for Brenham Schools, Let Our Teachers Teach, and prayerfully supported by Texas Church Leaders”.  The cards do not indicate they are a political ad, nor who paid for them.  At the end of the meeting, a Club member tells everyone that they need to vote for the candidates supported by CUBS.
12. One of the members of CUBS hosts forums for the School Board candidates in Chappell Hill and Old Washington without disclosing that she is supporting certain candidates. 
13. At a forum hosted by the Washington County Republican Women, those same illegal push cards are passed out by a member of the Club, who is also a member of CUBS. 
14. A meet and greet for the two City Council challengers and the one School Board challenger who all attend Champion Fellowship Church is hosted by the Senior Pastor and the Chairwoman of the Washington County Republican Party, among others.
15. And finally, I have been told that a third local pastor sent a letter to the members of his congregation suggesting which candidates they should vote for.

School Board candidate David Jantzi came by to visit with me after my first editorial about these races.  Jantzi told me he answered “no” to the question about receiving any support from any political special interest groups because he didn’t consider CUBS a political special interest group, just a group of local citizens.  In retrospect, he did acknowledge that he probably should have disclosed their support.  That’s something all of the candidates being supported by these groups should have done.  Unfortunately, when candidates put their campaigns in the hands of various third parties, they lose some control over what is being said and done on their behalf.  The printing of illegal push cards wasn’t done by the candidates themselves, but by the individuals and groups supporting them.  I believe David is a good man, as he said that mistake is being corrected.

Now that I’ve presented the details, I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not this was a conspiracy from the beginning, or just a large number of coincidental missteps.

And that’s the way it looks to this Spectator.