The Montgomery County Republican Party’s Executive Committee overwhelmingly voted to censure State Reps. Cecil Bell, Jr. of Magnolia and Will Metcalf of Montgomery.
The two representatives defended themselves at the CEC meeting but to no avail.
Of the 88 CEC members present Tuesday evening, 52 voted in favor of the resolution, 32 voted against it, and four abstained from voting.
The resolution brings the total number of censured Republican state representatives in Texas to four.
The Dallas County GOP voted to censure State Reps. Morgan Meyer of Dallas and Angie Chen Button of Richardson last month for actions deemed “in opposition to the core principles of the Republican Party of Texas’s Platform and the Legislative Priorities.”
Unlike Dallas, Montgomery County Chairman Gwen Withrow told Texas Scorecard that the censure would remain local and not go to the State Republican Executive Committee, of which she is also a member.
The press release stated that “tonight’s resolution does not request any of the remedies of action from the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) under Rule 44. No one is being denied access to the Republican ballot in the next primary.”
“I see this as a shot across the bow to our representatives,” Withrow told Texas Scorecard. “I would like to see them reach out and work with the party, which I am willing to do, and work together to advance the Republican principles.”
Montgomery County GOP Chair Gwen Withrow formed an ad hoc Censure Resolution Committee. That committee determined that the two representatives’ actions met multiple criteria for censure.
Bell’s and Metcalf’s actions, according to the resolution, include abandoning the Republican caucus vote for House speaker, which violated both a State Republican Executive Committee resolution and RPT principle 5: Personal Accountability and Responsibility.
The resolution also stated that the representatives violated the spirit and intent of the fourth RPT priority, “No Democrat Chairs.”
Although technically no Democrats chair any standing committees, House Resolution 4, which the Montgomery County resolution cited as a violation, permits Democrats to act as vice-chairs on all committees with functionally the same authority as a chair plus an additional $4,000 monthly office budget. Additionally, Democrats chair six “permanent subcommittees.”
The resolution also stated that by placing an armed guard in front of his locked office, Metcalf prohibited constituent access, thereby directly violating RPT principle 1, which expresses “strict adherence to the original language and intent” of the Texas Constitution Article 1, Section 2 that explains political power is inherent in the people.
“I would have invited my constituents to my office, handed them a water bottle, and given a speech explaining my vote and actions,” Withrow stated in the report. “Instead, the voters were shut out and treated like dirt at the Peoples’ House. I might add these actions have consequences and people are mad.”
The resolution also mentioned among its grievances Metcalf’s and Bell’s votes to allow the “nuclear option” to suppress debate. Another grievance included voting thrice in favor of long weekends from January 17-21, January 30-February 3, and February 14-17, claiming this is essentially a stalling tactic intended to kill legislation.
Withrow considers the local party censure a “yellow flag” to correct the representatives’ behavior, while the report stated that the censure should be a “warning.”
“I would like to see them shake it off and go forward,” Withrow told Texas Scorecard.
Texas Scorecard contacted both Bell and Metcalf for comment, but they did not respond before publication.
