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Bryan Slaton

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Bryan Slaton
Slaton at the 2022 Hazlitt Summit hosted by Young Americans for Liberty Foundation
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 2nd district
In office
January 12, 2021 – May 8, 2023
Preceded byDan Flynn
Succeeded byJill Dutton
Personal details
Born (1978-02-02) February 2, 1978 (age 46)
Mineola, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseSharmen
Children2
Residence(s)Royse City, Texas, U.S.
Alma materOuachita Baptist University (BA)
University of North Texas (BA)
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.)
OccupationPastor; Financial Services

Bryan Lee Slaton (born February 2, 1978) is a former pastor and American politician. A member of the Republican Party, Slaton represented the 2nd district in the Texas House of Representatives from 2021 to 2023. Slaton also works for his family business, Slaton Financial Services.

In May 2023, Slaton resigned and was later expelled from the Texas House in a unanimous vote of 147-0 after a committee report found that Slaton had provided alcohol to, and had sex with, a 19-year-old female legislative aide under his employ who was "unable to give effective consent." He was the first member of the Texas Legislature to be expelled since 1927.

Early life, education, and career

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Slaton was born on February 2, 1978,[1] in Mineola, Texas. He attended Ouachita Baptist University, where he received a BA in youth ministry and speech communication. He then attended University of North Texas and earned a degree in accounting. Slaton later earned a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served in the ministry as a youth and family minister for 13 years, for three of those years at River Hills Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, Texas. Bryan works for his brother's small business, Slaton Financial Services.[2][non-primary source needed]

Early political career

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In 2016, Slaton challenged incumbent state representative Dan Flynn, losing in the Republican primary 51 percent to 49 percent.[3] Flynn defeated Slayton again in the 2018 primary, 52 percent to 48 percent.[citation needed]

During the 2020 primary, Slaton defeated Flynn by a 22-point margin, forcing a runoff election.[4][5] Slaton positioned himself as more conservative than Flynn[6][7] and criticized Flynn over Flynn's spending. He sent out mail which pointed out Flynn's campaign-funded lifestyle expenses such as nearly $14,000 in spending on cookies and using his campaign fund to pay for a Netflix subscription. Slaton campaigned on abolishing property taxes, ending overly broad laws that give government excess power during emergencies, and pledging to oppose any tax increase.[8]

Texas House of Representatives

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In March 2021, Slaton introduced a bill that would abolish abortion and make it a criminal act, whereby women and physicians who received and performed abortions, respectively, could receive the death penalty. The bill made no exceptions for rape or incest; it did provide exemptions for ectopic pregnancies that threaten the life of the woman "when a reasonable alternative to save the lives of both the mother and the unborn child is unavailable."[9]

In June 2022, Slaton said in a social media post that he planned to introduce legislation in the 2023 legislative session that would ban minors from drag shows in Texas.[10][11]

Slaton supports a ban on Democrats being given committee chairmanships as long as the Republicans hold the majority of seats in the Texas House.[12] On December 6, 2022, Slaton proposed a rule change to the Texas House Administration Committee that would end Democrats receiving committee chairmanships. On February 27, 2023, Slaton introduced HB 2889, which would allow a tax credit for married residents of Texas that would increase as the number of children increases, either by procreation or adoption.[13]

On March 6, 2023, Slaton introduced HB 3596, the "Texas Independence Referendum Act" (TEXIT),[14] which would allow for a referendum to investigate the secession of Texas from the U.S. The U.S. Supreme Court case Texas v. White ruled in 1869 that the Constitution did not permit states to unilaterally secede from the United States.[7]

Sexual misconduct controversy, expulsion and resignation

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On April 10, 2023, a complaint surfaced alleging Slaton had been in an "inappropriate relationship" with an intern who worked for his office, over the previous month, culminating in a late-night incident involving alcohol.[15] Representatives Briscoe Cain and Steve Toth, both Republicans, were the first to call for Slaton's resignation.[16][17][18] According to The Texas Tribune, "[t]he resignation calls by Cain and Toth are noteworthy. The two are members of the staunchly conservative Texas House Freedom Caucus, which takes positions that usually align with Slaton's."[19][20]

The incident was investigated by the House Committee on General Investigating,[a] which published a report in May 2023 unanimously recommending Slaton's expulsion from the House, and detailing that he had committed the crimes of providing alcohol to a minor, abuse of official capacity, and official oppression.[21] The committee's report stated that Slaton had invited a 19-year-old aide to his home at around 10 p.m. on March 30, 2023, telling her that he "did not want to drink by himself." Friends of the aide accompanied her as a "protective measure," with their presence surprising Slaton.[22] At his home, Slaton provided alcohol to all of them. The staff member testified that she drank a "lot of alcohol," felt "pretty rough" and "really dizzy."[22] When the friends left Slaton's home and she attempted to get up to leave as well, Slaton told her in front of the others that she "did not have to leave if she did not want to," and she stayed.[22] The aide later testified that this was "an inappropriate situation ... because I had too much to drink."[22]

A co-worker of the aide testified that the aide later confided that she had unprotected sex with Slaton. The committee report further details that the aide bought the Plan B emergency contraceptive the next day.[21][22]

The committee reported that Slaton did not deny the allegation of having sex with the aide, and that neither Slaton nor his attorney provided any evidence to contradict the allegations. Instead, Slaton's attorney advocated that the complaints against the representative should be rejected because the alleged incident with the intern occurred in Slaton's home, not in their workplace.[21][22]

On May 8, 2023, Slaton resigned his seat.[23] On May 10, 2023, Slaton was expelled from the Texas House by a unanimous vote of 147–0,[b] making him the first member to be expelled from the Texas Legislature since 1927. The expulsion prevented Slaton from receiving a salary and benefits until the election of his successor.[24]

Personal life

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Slaton married his second wife in 2017;[25] she filed for divorce in April 2022 then withdrew it in November 2022.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Bryan Slaton's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  2. ^ "About Bryan - Conservative for Texas House". Bryan Slaton. December 4, 2019. Archived from the original on May 17, 2023.
  3. ^ "Republican primary returns". Texas Secretary of State. March 1, 2016. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  4. ^ Pollock, Cassandra; Oxner, Reese (July 15, 2020). "Three Texas House incumbents - Dan Flynn, Anna Eastman and J.D. Sheffield". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Monthly, Texas (July 15, 2020). "Roundup: Texas Primary Runoffs 2020". Texas Monthly. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  6. ^ Haslett, Mark (July 9, 2020). "Dan Flynn, Bryan Slaton Compete In July 14 GOP Primary Runoff". Texas Standard. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Ramirez, Nikki McCann (March 6, 2023). "Texas Republican Introduces Bill Calling for Vote on Secession". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  8. ^ Waltens, Brandon (May 2, 2020). "Runoff Review: Incumbent Dan Flynn Faces Bryan Slaton Head-To-Head". Texas Scorecard. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  9. ^ Najmabadi, Shannon (March 11, 2021). "Another Texas GOP Lawmaker Is Attempting to Make Abortion Punishable by the Death Penalty". News 19/WLTX. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  10. ^ Will DuPree, Nexstar Media Wire (June 6, 2022). "Texas lawmaker proposes banning drag shows in presence of minors". The Hill. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  11. ^ Rodriguez, Olga; Swenson, Ali (June 19, 2022). "Drag story hour hosts, under attack, dig in their heels". Associated Press. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  12. ^ "The Back Mic: Legislators Opposed to Democratic Chairs Listed, Rep. Moody Quells DA Appointment Rumors, House Rules Discussed". The Texan. December 9, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  13. ^ Slaton, Bryan. "HB 2889". LegiScan. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023.
  14. ^ Texas House Bill 3596. TX State Legislature page for HB3596. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Despart, Zach; Barragan, James; Svitek, Patrick (April 10, 2023). "Complaint alleges Rep. Bryan Slaton had "inappropriate relationship" with an intern". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  16. ^ Barragan, James (April 11, 2023). "Two GOP Texas House members call for Rep. Bryan Slaton to resign". www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 1, 2024. The resignation calls by Cain and Toth are noteworthy. The two are members of the staunchly conservative Texas House Freedom Caucus, which takes positions that usually align with Slaton's.
  17. ^ Goldenstein, Taylor (April 12, 2023). "Fellow Republicans call for Rep. Bryan Slaton to resign over alleged relationship with intern". The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  18. ^ Nowlin, Sanford (April 11, 2023). "Two fellow Texas House conservatives call on Rep. Bryan Slaton to resign over investigation". San Antonion Current. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  19. ^ Barragan, James (April 11, 2023). "Two GOP Texas House members call for Rep. Bryan Slaton to resign". www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 1, 2024. The resignation calls by Cain and Toth are noteworthy. The two are members of the staunchly conservative Texas House Freedom Caucus, which takes positions that usually align with Slaton's.
  20. ^ Kika, Thomas (April 11, 2023). "Texas GOP Rep Faces Calls From Own Party to Resign Amid Alleged Misconduct". Newsweek. Retrieved May 1, 2024. The Tribune, a news website, said these calls are particularly noteworthy because Cain and Toth are also considered to be staunch conservatives and have a history of voting along the same lines as Slaton.
  21. ^ a b c Despart, Zach; Downey, Renzo (May 6, 2023). "Texas House committee recommends expelling Rep. Bryan Slaton". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  22. ^ a b c d e f Goldenstein, Taylor; Scherer, Jasper (May 6, 2023). "House panel calls for expulsion of Texas Rep. Bryan Slaton, accused of inappropriate sexual conduct". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  23. ^ Autullo, Ryan (May 9, 2023). "Texas Rep. Bryan Slaton resigns after giving alcohol to, having sex with 19-year-old aide". USA Today. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  24. ^ Downen, Robert (May 9, 2023). "Texas House expels Bryan Slaton, first member ousted since 1927". Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  25. ^ Downen, James Barragán and Robert (May 4, 2023). "Rep. Bryan Slaton declines to discuss attendance at closed investigative hearing". The Texas Tribune.

Notes

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  1. ^ The Committee consists of five members, three Republicans (including the chair) and two Democrats (including the vice chair), all appointed by the Speaker.
  2. ^ The three members not voting were Slaton (who was absent), Sherman (who had previously been excused from attendance), and Davis (who was absent).
[edit]
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the
Texas House of Representatives
from the 2nd district
2021–2023 		Succeeded by
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