Bexar County committee member booted for calling commissioner a 'crusading c---'

Bexar County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to remove a committee member for using a derogatory expletive in reference to Precinct 1 Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores, the only woman on the court.

Chris Forbrich, who chaired the advisory committee for the county's Small, Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises program, is alleged to have called Clay-Flores a "crusading cunt of a commissioner" in conversation at a July 10 Frost Bank Center event, Texas Public Radio reports.

Ahead of Tuesday's vote, Forbrich told commissioners his comment was made in private, according to the radio station.

"Well, I think there's a learning opportunity here to have a discussion about what protected political speech means in the context of a private citizen in a private conversation that may be in the public square," Forbrich said.

Forbrich also called attention to the abrupt nature of his expulsion from the committee, which is tasked with helping woman-owned businesses grow. According to TPR, Forbrich stated that he "did not have the due process to prepare" for the committee's decision.

Clay-Flores has served on Commissioners Court since January 2021 and won May's Democratic primary runoff. In November, she'll face off against Republican challenger Lina Prado.

Ahead of Tuesday's vote, Clay-Flores read a statement calling the court a "good old boys club," explaining that she's encountered frequent sexism and received little support from colleagues in addressing it.

"As the only woman on the court, I have publicly said before that I have experienced sexism and racism in this very seat from people who have come up and spoke at that very mic, " Flores said, "and I did not feel that my male colleagues defended me or said anything about me."

The vote to remove Forbrich was unanimous.

Though it's unclear from press reports what prompted the derogatory remark, Clay-Flores said in her statement that they might be in response to her attempts to remove members of the committee who may have conflicts of interest.