Friends of SAFA Retracts Support of Republican Chairwoman Cynthia Brehm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 27, 2018

Friends of SAFA Retracts Support of Republican Chairwoman Cynthia Brehm

Friends of SAFA has decided to retract our endorsement and support of Cynthia Brehm. This decision has not come hastily. After careful reflection and in light of new information which causes concern about her ability to lead the party and advance the platform, and questions raised about her judgment, prior omissions of facts, and potentially her role in enabling her husband in his predatory behavior, Friends of SAFA has come to the conclusion that Mrs. Brehm is not committed to protecting, defending, and promoting the family.

The strength of the family and and protecting children is what the San Antonio Family Association is all about.

Our current change of position regarding Mrs. Brehm has come through the consistent application of principles, which initially led us to resist the tide of requests for her resignation. Namely, the Friends of SAFA as a PAC supports candidates committed to protecting, defending, and promoting the family, the building block of society. Given the initial information provided to us concerning her marriage, her husband’s repentance of past misdeeds, the narrative that no physical contact occurred in the isolated incident of exposure, and the claim that all parties involved had reconciled, we found it inappropriate at that time to call for her resignation; given that we are an organization that celebrates the preservation of the family, stands for the sanctity and indissolubility of marriage; we stood by her based on her testimony of the reconciliation of her marital issues as consistent with the values we contend for every day.

Unfortunately, it appears that the narrative provided to us by Mrs. Brehm was seriously lacking concerning the alleged sexual predatory nature of her husband. Rather than a single isolated incident in which no physical contact took place, which was resolved both legally and within the family, we find that he is accused of multiple incidents of sexual molestation, which did involve physical contact.

These new revelations raise questions not only about his supposed reconciliation with his family but also about potential marital infidelities while overseas after said time of repentance and reconciliation. Given the additional information, we no longer find the narrative provided to us by Mrs. Brehm to be credible, nor do we believe she was transparent or forthright in providing a full accounting of the situation when given the opportunity.

We believe that patience and regarding all the facts are virtues that must be exercised toward those involved in public life. Hasty judgments are to be avoided. We extended this patience to Mrs. Brehm. Our desire has been to avoid the mistake of making a rash judgment harming both an innocent party and hurting the conservative cause in the process.

Given our commitments to marriage stated above (which are counter-cultural to the views of many today) and the imprudence of judging too hastily, we were not prepared to punish Mrs. Brehm for “standing by her man” or disqualify her based on the fact of her marriage. Asking her to resign for keeping her marital commitment in the context of a culture where too many devalue the sanctity and indissolubility of marriage is counter to our very purpose. We were not willing to quickly jump onto the bandwagon with those who sought her resignation initially based on the actions of her husband.

Therefore, we are NOT withdrawing our support of Mrs. Brehm as Bexar County Republican Chairwoman ON THE BASIS OF HER HUSBAND’S ACTIONS. She has demonstrated a lack of leadership by providing less than full disclosure, seemingly putting her personal ambitions before the good of the party. We find Mrs. Brehm’s response to the situation lacking, not only in leadership but also raising questions of her own character due to perceived covering up of facts.

Friends of SAFA continues to fulfill its purpose in supporting candidates committed to protecting, defending, and promoting the family, the basic building block of society. In this endeavor, we affirm our commitment to marriage (sanctity and indissolubility), reconciliation between broken parties, and a belief in redemption.

However, our commitments to these principles are never at the expense of the safety of children. We adamantly oppose the sexual victimization of the young and vulnerable among us. Mrs. Brehm’s apparent lack of transparency regarding her husband’s conduct runs counter to our goals to protect children from such victimization because such a lack of transparency not only carries the risk of covering up such actions, but may also have enabled predatory behavior to continue in the past. We cannot, would not, and did not support such a risk or potential cover-up.

As a political action committee, Friends of SAFA’s endorsements have never been easily given. We have historically supported candidates based on a process of interviews and questionnaires, only endorsing those who hold to solid views regarding issues of family and life. Mrs. Brehm has taught us that while we were thorough in these processes, they are inadequate in this context. Therefore, future candidates seeking our endorsement and support will need to submit to criminal background checks for both them and their spouses as well as additional vetting. We will no longer simply take someone at their word without verification, in other words, we will “trust but verify.”

Friends of SAFA has always stood for the principles of forgiveness, reconciliation and family values. We have always believed that the sins of others do not transfer just because of a familial relationship. We have supported Mrs. Brehm because we believed she was not the evil actor. We believed her story and that her family through prayer and counseling moved forward stronger. But recent facts have arisen which brings us to question what we have been told. Too many inconsistencies have come to light. With a heavy heart, we must withdraw our support of Cynthia Brehm. We still maintain our support for our core values and the conservative movement.

We will continue to provide the necessary resources to defend, protect and defend the family (the most basic unit of society).