Long time Brown County Republican Chairman Brad Locker announced that he resigned from the position at the Brown County Republican Convention which was held Saturday.
Locker made the announcement Tuesday night at the Republican candidate forum and said that Sammie Stewart has been appointed to the position. Stewart is the only candidate running for Brown County Republican Chair in the May 29th primary election.
Locker said that he made the decision to step down during this year’s filing period to let the new chairman lead the party during the election season.
“It seems to make sense to me, that it is best to let the new (about to be elected) chairman, go ahead and be appointed by the Brown County Executive Committee,” Locker said. “The primary election is a ‘done deal’ from a planning standpoint and that is the chairman’s biggest job. Sammie can now easily finish that process and go forward and lead our State Delegation to the State Convention. This will be the best opportunity for him to become familiar with the process.”
Locker said that although he has stepped down from this leadership position, he will continue to stay involved in the political scene in a variety of ways.
“I do plan to stay involved in politics to the extent that my background and contacts are useful to Brown County and its long term goals,” Locker said. “I hope to stay a part of the Brownwood Chamber’s Military and Legislative Affairs Committee and will gladly serve in that capacity, if and when I can be of help. This move really frees me to work on areas that I feel are important for county, state, and country.”
Locker also said that he has full confidence in Stewart to lead the Brown County Republican Party.
“Sammie is a long time friend and strong conservative with great leadership skills,” Locker said. “He will lead the party well and bring to it a fresh perspective, with a goal of consistent unity within the party.”
Locker said that he served as Brown County Republican Chairman for 13 to 14 years, and that he is grateful for the experience.
“Being Brown County Republican Chairman has been a great experience in my life. I have learned a lot about how state and national politics work,” Locker said. “The position allows access to many elected and influential people, for which I am very grateful. As a result I have made many friends from Brown County to Austin to DC. It has been fun and rewarding to represent Brown County for the past dozen years and I plan to continue to be an ambassador for our county at every opportunity.”
