HOUSTON — Dress for the job you want, but do not apply for a new position before checking to see if you have to leave your current post first.
Harris County Civil Court Judge Bill McLeod could have used that advice recently. After winning a seat on the bench in November, McLeod recently went public with plans to seek a seat on the Texas Supreme Court. However, he overlooked Article 16, Section 65, of the state constitution, which holds that a judge making an announcement of being a candidate for a different seat doubles as an automatic resignation of their current job.
McLeod, a Democrat, beat Republican Sophia Mafrige by more than 117,000 votes in the November general election to become judge of the Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 4, according to Ballotpedia. In 2016, he failed in a bid to become Precinct 5 Harris County Justice of the Peace.
According to the Texas Tribune, McLeod not only changed his campaign website to reflect his bid, he also filed paperwork with the Texas Ethics Commission. Since the conflict surfaced, his campaign website has a new message.
Under the heading “I need your support one more time!” at mcleodforjustice.com, he wrote: “I wanted to make a difference in Harris County and turn Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 4 around in two years, I knew I could because of my strong work ethic and then move on to bigger challenges in the State of Texas, for all citizens in the State of Texas. As soon as I received an email from one of my colleagues that my plan would not be possible, I took my website down for the race as fast as I could.”
McLeod highlighted the constitutional clause in question and noted a provision in Article 16, Section 17, stating that, “County Commissioners Court is not required to appoint a successor and may allow the officeholder who resigned as a result of Article 16, section 65 automatic trigger to allow the continuation of serving the people and remain in office. The Commissioners Court’s decision not to fill a vacancy cannot be challenged by a quo warranto Action.”
As such, McLeod urges supporters to call Harris County Commissioners Court daily to reiterate a desire to keep McLeod in office and to appear with him before the panel at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. He said there is a chance the court could allow him to keep serving and call for a special election next year in which he could be a candidate.
“I am asking for support to be allowed to remain on my bench, run in the election in 2020 and again in 2022 for Harris County Civil Court At Law No. 4, and I would make you proud in the years to follow,” he wrote.
Robert Soard, the first assistant county attorney, told The Washington Post this week it would proceed with its role in replacing McLeod on the bench.
“It’s our opinion that the facts as we understand them constitute an announcement of candidacy for another office,” Soard told the paper. “And that triggers the constitutional provision.”