Texas’ Supreme Court has been asked to consider compelling the Harris County Commissioners Court to declare a disputed commissioner’s seat vacant and order a special election to fill it.
The case concerns an ongoing dispute over whether Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia vacated his seat when he accepted an appointment to a second public office in 2023.
Richard Vega—Garcia’s Republican challenger for the Precinct 2 seat in November—recently filed for mandamus relief, asking the Court to force Harris County’s hand since it has refused to declare the seat vacant and call a special election. He argues the county is required to do so under the law.
Vega is hoping for the opportunity to take office early in order to vote on a county budget and tax rate in mid-September. He is asking the court to rule before July 6 to accommodate time for the required election.
The Court has given Harris County until June 15 to respond.
As previously reported, Garcia (D) was elected to the Harris County Commissioners Court in 2018. In 2021, the commissioners court appointed him to the board of the Gulf Coast Protection District (GCPD). He accepted a reappointment to that position in August 2023.
Vega filed a lawsuit in 2024 against all five members of the commissioners court, arguing the GCPD is “a second taxing entity with overlapping authority over the very same residents he is supposed to represent.”
For this reason, Vega contended that by accepting his appointment to the GCPD, Garcia “automatically resigned his position as Commissioner.” Holding both positions simultaneously violates Texas law prohibiting public officials from occupying two offices with conflicting duties.
Under the Texas Election Code, if an officer “accepts another office and the two offices may not lawfully be held simultaneously, a vacancy in the first office occurs on the date the person qualifies for the other office.”
Vega argued this would have made Garcia’s seat vacant since at least August 2023.
According to Vega, the Texas Election Code provides that a “vacancy occurring more than 74 days before a general election triggers a legal duty to hold a special election” and that “county officials would have been required to order an election to fill the remainder of the term for Precinct 2.”
Because the alleged vacancy requires an election to fill it, plaintiffs are petitioning the court for mandamus relief—an order compelling the commissioners court to call a special election.
County lawyers argued Garcia’s appointment violated the “self-appointment doctrine,” because he served on the commissioners court that appointed him. This would make the appointment invalid, meaning he never vacated his commissioners seat—despite having served on the GCPD board and cast votes.
The 333rd District Court in Harris County sided with county lawyers and threw out the case on jurisdictional grounds, finding it lacked authority to declare the seat vacant or order an election. It did not consider the merits.
Vega appealed this decision to the First Court of Appeals in Houston.
On April 16, the First Court ruled that Garcia’s appointment to the GCPD was indeed void—upholding the trial court’s dismissal.
On May 8, Vega filed for mandamus relief with the Supreme Court of Texas, hoping the Court will finally compel Harris County to order the special election.
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