Tag Archives: Brian Slaton

local news

Six candidates seek Slaton’s old seat

Six candidates have filed to run for the Texas House of Representatives seat vacated by the expelled Rep. Bryan Slaton, a Royse City Republican, in one of the more bizarre sex-related scandals in anyone’s recent memory.

The five Republicans who filed are Jill Dutton, former president of Republican Women of Van Zandt; Heath Hyde, a Sulphur Springs attorney; Brent Money, a Greenville lawyer; Doug Roszhart, vice chair of the Hunt County GOP; and Krista Schild, a Hunt County precinct chair. The Democrat is Kristen Washington, a former member of the Greenville City Council.

I’ll rehash briefly what happened to Slaton. The two-term representative took an underage staffer to his Austin apartment, filled her with booze and then had sex with her. This supposedly “devout Christian” never apologized for his action when the House called him on it; he exhibited zero contrition. So the House voted unanimously to oust his sorry a** out of the House.

I notice that three of the five Republican candidates are men.

Hmm. Fine, but let me caution all those fellas about the risk of campaigning for a seat once held by a politician who got caught breaking his most sacred of oaths.

Six file to run in special election to replace Rep. Bryan Slaton | The Texas Tribune

Do not, gentlemen, brag to the Texas House District 2 residents you will meet about “being faithful to my wife.” It is expected that the vow you take is intended to last forever. Marital fidelity is no reason to vote for you.

Got it? Good!

local news

Slaton’s successor needs to be faithful

Northeast Texas voters will get a chance in November to elect someone to represent them in the Texas House of Representatives.

This isn’t your ordinary election, though. Whoever is chosen to represent House District 2 will succeed a man scorned and eventually expelled from the House for his sexual abuse of an underage staffer.

Former Rep. Brian Slaton of Royse City took office in 2021 after defeating Rep. Dan Flynn, who later died. Slaton distinguished himself mainly by being a fire-breathing, flame-throwing conservative intent on pushing the MAGA-style cultural agenda. Then he decided to consume alcohol with a 19-year-old female staffer in his Austin apartment and then have sex with her.

That disgusting episode caught the attention of ethics watchdogs in the Legislature. They examined the allegations, determined they were true, recommended expulsion and the House followed suit.

Republicans running in the deeply conservative district vow to “restore integrity” to the office. That isn’t a huge hill to climb. All they have to do, in my view, is behave professionally and avoid having sex with anyone other than their spouse. 

Ousted Rep. Bryan Slaton’s tarnished legacy looms over special election | The Texas Tribune

Slaton’s legacy, though, lives on in the support some of the candidates are getting from former Slaton allies. Be careful, folks.

I am one Texan who is glad Slaton is outta there. I talked twice with him while writing stories for KETR-FM and I found him to be obnoxious in his fealty to that MAGA agenda. The guy had nothing constructive to offer.

Let’s hope the next state representative can provide an actual vision for where he or she wants to take the region.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com