The First Court of Appeals in Houston, is now deciding whether or not Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia vacated his seat back in 2023, when accepted a second position with the Gulf Coast Protection District.
That is against the law in the state of Texas.
“What the plaintiffs are arguing is under Texas law, automatically when he accepted the second appointment, he vacated his Commissioner’s seat in Harris County” said Travis Morgan, legal correspondent for Texas Scorecard.
The plaintiffs include Republican Richard Vega, who has been fighting to get the law enforced since 2024. But the Democrats are trying to dismiss it on a technicality.
“Harris County Commissioner’s who are the defendant’s in the lawsuit, they claim that because he (Garcia) was on the Commissioner’s Court that appointed him to that seat, that’s invalid. So, they appointment never actually happened” Morgan told KTRH.
The oral arguments were given last week, and they are now awaiting the court’s decision.
“The defendants are arguing that Garcia’s appointment never really happened, while the plaintiffs are saying that it’s very clear in Texas law that, that’s not a get-out-of-jail free card for what really happened, which is that he accepted that position” noted Morgan.
Either way, Garcia and Vega will both be vying for the Precinct 2 seat in November.