Visiting judge Patrick Pirtle temporarily restored Jason Corley Friday afternoon as Precinct 2 commissioner.
In making his ruling, Pirtle said Corley is the rightful holder of the office, but the judge also acknowledged there might be more work to be done and more hearings to be held.
Corley had been out of office since December 2 when County Judge Curtis Parrish declared Corley “automatically” resigned his seat by running for Congress more than one year and 30 days before the end of his term as commissioner. Parrish asked Corley to remove his personal effects from his office in the courthouse. Corley was then escorted out by Sheriff’s deputies.
Roughly two hours later, Parrish administered the oath of office to Mark Meurer of Slaton – naming him Precinct 2 commissioner. Corley filed a lawsuit the same day to get his seat back.
Acting on behalf of the State of Texas, Potter County Attorney Scott Brumley argued Corley never resigned his seat. Brumley argued Parrish had no legal authority to declare the seat vacant or to appoint Meurer as the new commissioner.
Timeline:
November 11: Jodey Arrington, GOP congressman for Texas District 19, announces he wouldn’t seek re-election.
November 12: Jason Corley announced an exploratory committee for the 19th Congressional District. It included a “Corley for Congress” mailing address, email address and logo. The email and logo were left over from Corley’s run in 2016.
November 15: Corley sent a private text message saying, “I’m running for Congress.” (Corley argued a private message does not trigger an automatic resignation.)
December 2: Corley publicly announced his candidacy for Congress one year and 29 days before the end of his term on the Commissioners Court.
December 3: Corley’s official application was submitted with the Texas Republican Party for the March 3 primary.
December 8: County Judge Curtis Parrish declared Corley “automatically” resigned when became a candidate “in fact” for Congress with too much time left in his current term as commissioner. Corley disputed the claim.
December 8: Corley filed a lawsuit to get his seat back – saying in part an exploratory committee is not the same as announcing for office. Corley claimed previous court cases set the boundaries and he did not cross them.
December 9: State District Judge Les Hatch removed himself from the case. Patrick Pirtle from the 7th Court of Appeals was named as the replacement.
December 9: LubbockLights.com quoted other commissioners as saying they were stunned by the sudden turn of events.
December 10: Pirtle denied Corley’s request to immediately declare him the rightful office holder but instead scheduled a hearing for December 19.
December 15: Pirtle allowed Lubbock County District Attorney Sunshine Stanek to remove her office from the case and appointed Potter County Attorney Scott Brumley to represent the State of Texas.
December 16: Meurer’s attorney filed a petition to throw the entire case out of court – saying Corley had no right bring the case – only the State of Texas could.
December 16: Later that same day, Brumley made a written argument in favor of Corley on behalf of the state. It said in part “[Meurer] is unlawfully holding and executing the office of county commissioner.”
LubbockLights.com will follow up with Corley, Meurer and Parrish – offering each a chance to comment.
This story was published as breaking news. Please check back later for updates.
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– James Clark is the associate editor of Lubbock Lights. He worked in radio, television and digital media for a combined total of more than 30 years. He was Director of Digital News Content at KAMC,…
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