Republican Party of Texas Will Proceed With In-Person State Convention This Month
July 5, 2020 - Statewide
Fueled for Houston. Despite the surge of Covid-19 cases throughout the nation, the Republican Party of Texas will continue with its plans to have an in-person state convention in downtown Houston. Screenshot: YouTube.
By Jade Esteban Estrada - Political Columnist, San Antonio Sentinel
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- On Thursday, the State Republican Exeutive Committee of the Republican Party of Texas voted 40-20 to move forward with an in-person state convention in Houston July 13-18
- In regards to Gov. Abbott's latest order that prohibits public gatherings, attorney Wade Emmert stated, "I don't think the ten-person limit applies to us."
- According to organizers, the convention will be prepared with multiple precautions and safety measures for attendees
By a 40-20 vote, the State Republican Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Texas passed a resolution Thursday in support of moving forward with the party’s in-person convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, which is scheduled to take place July 13-18. This announcement comes as the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise exponentially throughout the nation.
The SREC, the 64-member body that governs the state party, came to the decision after a nearly three-hour emergency meeting via Zoom.
“After extensive debate Thursday evening, the State Republican Executive Committee reinforced its support for proceeding with our state convention in person in Houston,” said RPT Chairman James Dickey.
According to a press release on the party’s website, the convention is prepared with multiple precautions and safety measures for attendees. “Thermal scanners will be present at entryways,” stated Morgan Lloyd, RPT’s deputy director of communications. “Expanded seating will be in place for social distancing in caucus and general session meetings. Meeting areas will be deep-cleaned thoroughly after each gathering to prepare for the next meeting [and] sanitizer stations will be found throughout the convention center.” Lloyd added that sponsors have donated masks which will be readily available for delegates’ and attendees’ use in compliance with Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s most recent order.
During the meeting, Dickey said that Abbott’s proclamation regarding large gatherings “does not” affect the convention’s plans.
“I have been dealing with Gov. Abbott’s orders for the last four months and I will first say that they’re not always a model of clarity,” said attorney Wade Emmert. “But this one is pretty clear, I think. I don’t think the 10-person limit applies to us.”
He said that the main thrust of the order is the first paragraph after the “therefore” clause.
“It says, ‘Every person in Texas shall wear a face mask covering over the face and mouth when inside a commercial entity or other building or space open to the public or when in an outdoor public space or wherever it is not feasible to maintain six feet of social distancing from another person not in the same household.’ And then it goes on to list exceptions to that general rule. The only place it says ten people is after those exceptions and it does not restate the rule; it simply says a gathering of more than ten people is not one of these exceptions,” Emmert said. “So I think, as it’s worded, the order requires gatherings of any size to wear face masks provided it is not feasible to maintain the six feet of social distancing.”
RELATED: Can You Hear Me Now? Texas Cities Send Residents Alerts About Statewide Mask Requirement
Last month, the Texas Democratic Party held its first virtual convention in response to the increasing numbers of Covid-19 cases across the state.
“Against the advice of doctors, medical professionals, and common-sense, Greg Abbott and the Texas Republican Party decided to hold an in-person convention in the biggest coronavirus hotspot in the country,” said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa in a written statement. “Neither the vanity of hosting an in-person convention nor the lack of skill to host a modern virtual experience are reasons to put Houston workers and their families at risk. This is the last gasp of a declining party.”
Committee meetings for the GOP state convention will begin on Monday, July 13, and the general session to open the convention is on Thursday, July 16. The State Convention is set to conclude on Saturday, July 18.
Further information about the event can be found here.
“We have a path forward to holding an online convention should the need arise,” said Dickey. “It is, and always has been, a back-up plan.”
Jade Esteban Estrada is a political columnist at the San Antonio Sentinel. He can be reached at jade@sasentinel.com.