But a 2019 attorney general opinion states that \u201ca release from the disabilities resulting from a conviction\u201d is not automatic after the completion of a sentence. The opinion states a person is released from disabilities if they receive an executive pardon or if a judge sets aside a verdict dismissing the charging instrument \u2014 neither of which occurred in Geter\u2019s cases.<\/p>\n
![\"Pedra](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/HAFLANJ4KBCPNH3EZYD7NP6KKU.JPG\")
<\/p>\n
Pedra Geter was removed from the March 3 primary ballot by the Dallas County Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
Pedra Geter<\/p>\n
In a statement to The Dallas Morning News, Geter said she is \u201cevaluating all remedies available\u201d to address the party\u2019s decision. She said she is \u201cdoing the work required to address any remaining questions under the law\u201d and plans to run again in the next election.<\/p>\n
In the decades since her convictions, Geter said she has earned higher education degrees, advocated for mental health and housing reforms, and partnered with faith-based and government entities to better her community. She said she accepted responsibility and used her experience as \u201ca catalyst for lasting change.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis situation raises a broader issue about whether people who have paid their debt, followed the law, and dedicated their lives to helping others should be permanently defined by their earliest mistakes,\u201d Geter said. \u201cI believe in accountability, transparency, and redemption and my life\u2019s work reflects those values.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Commissioner](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/P6U6U4M6DNCZPJ67VPDUDISSBA.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Commissioner Elba Garcia speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022, in Dallas. <\/p>\n
Rebecca Slezak \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
Garcia, who was first elected to the Commissioners Court in November 2010, declined to comment on Geter\u2019s disqualification.<\/p>\n
Geter\u2019s campaign website describes her as \u201ca postdoctoral clinical psychologist\u201d and an evangelical preacher. According to the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council database, she is not licensed to practice psychology in the state.<\/p>\n
She said she has obtained academic degrees in psychology and related fields and is preparing to complete the Texas licensing process but has not represented herself as a licensed psychologist.<\/p>\n
Geter said her record reflects consistent public service and she intends to continue that work in her next run for office.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been transparent about my past, compliant with the law for many years and I am taking the steps necessary to ensure there is no ambiguity going forward,\u201d Geter said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The only Democrat who filed to run against District 4 County Commissioner Elba Garcia in the March 3…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":105490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,581,104,103,288,287],"class_list":{"0":"post-105489","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-county","10":"tag-dallas-headlines","11":"tag-dallas-news","12":"tag-elections","13":"tag-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}