State Chairman James Dickey? It's now very possible (UPDATE: He's in)

Dickey, Ramsey, Figueroa

UPDATE (5/23/17): James Dickey has thrown his hat into the ring. Mark Ramsey issued a letter he will not seek election. Rick Figueroa sets up campaign page.

Republican Party of Texas (RPT) Chairman Tom Mechler has announced his decision to step down from his office.

Travis GOP Chairman James Dickey, SREC member Mark Ramsey, and former candidate for RNC National Committeeman Rick Figueroa are names presumed to be in the running. Below is some background, followed by the text of Mechler's resignation letter.

The buzz surrounding Mechler's future started Thursday with a livestream of Raging Elephants Radio, citing anonymous sources who claimed Mechler was stepping down. Raging Elephants is not exactly warm and fuzzy with Mechler ever since being denied a media pass at the 2016 RPT convention (amid other criticisms), and basked in the news.

Soon, these un-sourced reports were echoed by certain SREC members who claimed to have been contacted on behalf of a campaign for a contender for state chairman (whom, exactly, they didn't say).

Speculation then began to mount that Mechler may have had a side motive for his recent "listening tour" with Rick Figueroa -- a business leader and longtime advocate for greater Hispanic representation in the GOP -- that Mechler has hand-picked a successor.  (Republicans active on the state and national level may remember Figueroa for having run for Republican National Committee member against Dr. Robin Armstrong at the 2016 state convention.)

Making the chairman decision will be the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) -- comprised of a male member and a female member from each of Texas' state Senate districts. The SREC is scheduled to meet on June 3. A decision on that date would give the new chairman a little over a year to be at the helm of the RPT, an undeniably strong "incumbent's advantage" going in to the 2018 convention.

Close friends of State Republican Executive Committeeman for Senate District 7 Mark Ramsey and Travis County GOP Chairman James Dickey began to speak up. Cary Cheshire of Empower Texans gave Dickey high praise, to which Dickey responded via Twitter:

That's very kind of you to say. I want what is best for the @TexasGOP, whatever that may be. Hopefully more will be official soon.

Ramsey has been rather silent though has re-posted an endorsement or two from friends to social media.

We'll keep tracking this development.


MECHLER'S RESIGNATION LETTER:

Dear Friends,

Over the past two years, we’ve accomplished so much together. We successfully orchestrated one of the largest, most financially successful state conventions in recent history. We oversaw the largest primary election in Texas history, and then played a monumental role in helping elect Donald Trump as our new president. We shepherded in more Republican elected officials than we’ve ever had before in Texas, and we’ve developed our most aggressive and targeted engagement program in party history.

These past two years have been some of the most rewarding of my life. I cannot tell you what a privilege it is to work alongside each of you and to fight daily for something that matters so much to people across our great state.

But these past two years have also been tough. With the fluctuations in the oil industry, my family struggled to financially stay afloat. At one point, I even had to sell off equipment just to keep my
business in the black. While the financial struggles were significant, I knew that the work we were doing at the RPT was just as important. So we persisted. The work we were doing- the things we were accomplishing- made it all worth it.

However, my finances were not the only thing that took a hit. Over the past two years, I’ve spent over
80% of my time away from home. Whether in Austin or speaking to Republicans across Texas, serving as State Chairman took a considerable amount of time away from home. While we were making great strides in our party, my family was suffering. These past two years have been a whirlwind of activity and success, but they’ve also been a series of absences. A few weeks ago, my daughter called to tell me that my grandchildren missed their grandpa. And it broke my heart. I may have sacrificed time, money, and business for this position, but the people making the biggest sacrifice are my 6 children, 16 grandchildren, and my beautiful wife Becky.

Two weeks ago, my wife and I took a week-long cruise. What was intended to be a quick week away to rest and relax turned into an opportunity to have a real conversation about where our life was at.

Friends, this job is hard. The time commitment, financial commitment, stress, and overwhelming responsibility takes its toll. After a lot of prayer and reflection, I’ve decided that it is time for me to focus on my family. A few minutes ago, I submitted my resignation, effectively immediately, to our RPT secretary.

Please know this is not a decision I make lightly. It is after long conversations with my family and lots of prayer that I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the best decision for me and my family. I wanted you to be the first to know. Two years ago, the SREC elected me to serve in this important role. We’ve grown together. Though we may not always agree, I’ve come to view each of you as my “political family.” I am so grateful for the confidence you’ve placed in me, the sacrifices you’ve all made to help lead this party, and the successes we’ve had together. I am confident that each of you will continue to lead this party with conviction and intention.

When I first took on this role, it was my vision that our Party would be more united. After one of the most divisive primary elections and heated legislative sessions in recent history, our Party needs to work harder than ever to come together. A party that is fractured by anger and backbiting is a party that will not succeed. It is no secret that our party is divided into factions. It is also no secret that those factions frequently throw rocks at each other. As I prepare to leave this role, my hope is that every faction of this party will treat each other with kindness and respect. Though we may disagree on certain issues, we are all part of the same Republican, conservative family. When we work together and treat each other with respect, we are stronger.

My second goal was for our party to look more like Texas. We live in a diverse state. As the demographics continue to change, our state will soon have a majority-minority voting age population. If we do not continue to make efforts to engage in the diverse communities across Texas, our state will turn blue. This is no longer just a possibility, it is an inevitable reality if we fail to act. Over the past two years, engagement has been my biggest passion. We’ve taken unprecedented strides, and we’ve generated remarkable results. As the SREC selects who will serve as your next state chairman, I encourage them to find someone with this same passion. If we do not engage in the diverse communities across Texas, we will lose the state, then the nation, and there may be no coming back.

Serving as your State Chairman has been one of the greatest honors of my life. As we prepare for this transition, please know that I will always be here to support the great work you are doing. What makes our party special is an unwavering commitment to family values. For every true Republican, the order is God, family, politics. Today, I’m choosing to be there for my family.

Please feel free to call me if you have any questions.

Blessings,

Tom



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DISCLOSURE: The Travis Tracker is a sister media project of the Travis County Republican Party and is edited by the Travis GOP's Communications Director. We are unashamedly and enthusiastically pro-Dickey (hence the headline), but have attempted to be fair in the body of the article. An endorsement, should Mr. Dickey announce, is forthcoming.