Good morning!

School districts are being sued for violating the First Amendment rights of parents and taxpayers. Frankly, it’s well past time for school bureaucrats to be taken to the woodshed.

You’ll find more about that in today’s Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan
Thursday, May 19, 2022

Rinaldi: Texas GOP Is Not ‘A Cheerleading Society’

• In my conversation with Matt Rinaldi, the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas said he expects lawmakers to fight for conservative priorities – not just campaign on them. And as a former legislator himself, he knows what they can do and exactly how the process works. You can watch our conversation, or read Brandon Waltens’ article.
       
• “I can tell you, as a member of the Legislature, the status quo is essentially what would happen, unless you have people who are disrupting the status quo and trying to fight hard in order to get something done. We need to identify who those people are in the primary and elect the right people, or Republican priorities won’t go anywhere,” said Rinaldi.
     
• Voters get frustrated, Rinaldi explained, when they see Republicans not turning electoral victories into policy victories. As he put it, “the Texas GOP is not merely just a cheerleading society for elected officials.”
       
• No issue has united the various wings of the Republican Party, Rinaldi told me in our conversation, like the proposed elimination of the GOP-dominated legislature’s practice of appointing Democrats to chair committees. 
        
• Rinaldi is unopposed in his bid for re-election as chairman of the state party.
      
• “[W]e’re strong financially as a party. I think we’re more united as a party than ever before going into these runoff elections and into the convention and, ultimately, into November. And we’ve got the wind at our backs. I mean, with Biden and his low approval ratings, I think it’s going to be a good election year for Republicans.” – Matt Rinaldi

In Their Words: Ending Abortion

• With 34 Republican candidates in the May runoff elections for the state Legislature, Texas Scorecard asked for their plans to protect life now that it appears the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v Wade and other abortion-related court cases.
       
• Just as important as how candidates answer, is the lack of answers provided by some candidates on such an important issue. Silence says a lot…

Runoff Review: Klick Challenged By Lowe In House District 91

• Contained in central Tarrant County, Republican voters in House District 91 must decide between incumbent Stephanie Klick and conservative activist David Lowe in the runoff. Sydnie Henry reviews the race.
      
• Klick, who has a Fiscal Responsibility Index rating of 54, has come under fire from social conservative activists for her participation last year in killing legislation that would protect children from gender mutilation. She was first elected to the Texas House in 2012. Her largest donor is House Speaker Dade Phelan, providing more than $235,000 in support to Klick’s campaign.
      
• Lowe is a veteran who has also worked in criminal justice. He has been active in local politics for the last several years, including as the North Texas regional director of the Texas GOP. Lowe’s largest donor is the Defend Texas Liberty PAC.
      
• Check out the article for a look at how they address the issues facing Texas.

Pratt: Poll Reveals Property Tax Ignorance

• In a new commentary, Robert Pratt decries public ignorance on how property taxes are set in the Lone Star State… and who bears responsibility for the staggering burden.
       
• “Tax increases are made solely by local government officials when they set a new tax rate each summer for their coming fiscal year.” – Robert Pratt

Parents Sue Round Rock ISD For ‘Unconstitutional’ Arrests

• Two parents have filed a federal lawsuit against five school board trustees, the district superintendent, and several district police officers following an arrest they say was unconstitutional. Katy Drollinger has the story.
     
• Last year, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jeremy Story and Dustin Clark on charges of “hindering proceedings by disorderly conduct” following a September school board meeting. Both men were released the next day. The lawsuit, however, claims the arrests violated Story’s and Clark’s rights under the First Amendment and the 14th Amendment. Additionally, the suit accuses the defendants of misusing their power to deny the men their constitutional rights. 
      
• Story was arrested after he made reference in an August school board meeting to the criminal investigation into the RRISD superintendent, Hafedh Azaiez. Clark’s arrest came after he urged the school board in September to let more citizens into the meeting, which was focused on property taxes.
      
• “We hope to stop the chilling of freedom of speech and the right to petition your government caused by several members of the RRISD school board’s rogue actions. We also hope to expose the corruption that has been so rampant with the superintendent and several board members,” said Story, who condemned Round Rock ISD for prioritizing personal politics over students’ education.

McKinney ISD President Sued For Squelching Taxpayers’ Speech

• During a meeting of the McKinney ISD board of trustees, president Amy Dankel was served with a lawsuit for suppressing the free speech rights of citizens who disagree with her policies.
      
• “Your outrageous display of tyranny in how you trampled on the rights of the public at the last meeting was shocking,” said civil rights attorney Paul Davis, in presenting the suit during the public comment period. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
      

• In recent months, McKinney ISD’s school board meetings have featured a heavy police presence. On several occasions, police officers have ejected citizens, at Dankel’s direction, for failing to observe her rules of decorum during public comments. Davis said Tuesday that Dankel’s rules “placed an unconstitutional restraint on First Amendment rights by disallowing signs, clapping, and comments.”
     

• She directed police to physically remove people who were wearing green—supporters of conservative trustee Chad Green, who Dankel is trying to oust from the board. “Those same rules were not applied to people wearing blue,” said Davis, referring to Dankel supporters. “For that, we have filed a civil rights lawsuit against you.”

• The tyrannical monopolists running the government schools have gone from simply miseducating children and bankrupting taxpayers, to now actively undermining citizens’ constitutional rights.

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts displayed here should reflect those recently redrawn by the Legislature. Though the new lines do not take representational effect until 2023, they will appear on the 2022 ballot. Please note that your incumbent legislator and/or district numbers may have changed.