This week the Texas Legislature did something they haven’t done since 1927 – expel a member of the House of Representatives and they did it unanimously. Former Royce City Representative Bryan Slaton was ejected from the House on Tuesday following his resignation on Monday.
He was expelled after an investigation by the House Committee on General Investigation found he had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a 19-year-old aide.
His actions included supplying her with alcohol, sexually harassed her on the job, had a sexual intercourse with her, and then retaliated against her for reporting the incidents.
Slaton has been a champion of far-right conservative priorities.
Slaton admitted to the actions. Those actions are a violation of State law and conduct rules in the Texas House.
So why is the Jimplecute addressing this issue?
Normally we wouldn’t as it does not affect, nor can it be tied back to Marion County.
However, the Marion County Republican Party Chair, Scott Stebbins, inserted Marion County into the fray by making posts on Facebook in defense of Slaton. Stebbins removed the post from his personal page, but left others. Stebbins’ post is at right.
In his post, Stebbins defends Slaton by stating that this was, “taking down a conservative who actually voted for Republican priorities,” and then quotes scripture “He who is without sin cast the first stone.”
To have anyone defend, let alone not condemn, Slaton on his actions is appalling. To have the Chair of the Marion County Republican Party do so is beyond belief.
The post makes it seem like party priorities are more important than morals and following State law.
The Republican Party says it’s the part of morality and the rule of law. Yet Stebbins’ post not condemning a sexual predator in a public forum fly in the face of those claims.
Stebbins’ comments undermine the credibility of members of the GOP. It also negatively reflects on our locally elected GOP officials. It makes one wonder if a lot of this type of activity is going on, not only at a state level, but locally, and if the party is just covering it all up in the interests of party priorities.
Don’t’ take that the wrong way. The Jimplecute has faith in our locally elected leaders – regardless of party affiliation. We believe they are doing what is best for Marion County, and we’ve heard several of them publicly condemn Slaton. We do not believe they are engaging in similar activities.
In asking Stebbins about his post, he first asked if we could provide the post in question. Then said, “I took down my post after receiving more information on the subject. I realized I made a mistake so I took down my post.”
Stebbins may have taken it down on his profile page, but not on other locations (Jonathan Schober’s post for example.) Nor did he simply post that he made it in error. Nor did he condemn Slaton.
Ultimately, Slaton did the right thing by resigning. The Texas House of Representatives did the right thing by expelling him, stripping him of his benefits and removing him from the office until an election can be held.
And while not as egregious as actually doing the same thing, anyone in a position of authority that defends Slaton’s actions should also resign their positions.