Boren publicly announced his intention on March 16. The deadline to sign up as a candidate in the special election is April 27 and election day is June 27.<\/p>\n
The City Secretary Courtney Paz cited a residency requirement in a written notice sent to Boren last week. Paz declined to comment when contacted by LubbockLights.com. However, we were able to confirm from her that no candidates as of April 3 were signed up to run for District 4.<\/p>\n
Boren and his wife purchased a home out in the county in 2020. However, after the death of his mother, Geneva Boren, last year, he moved to what used to be her home near 98th Street and Memphis Avenue. He started moving in December and has been in the home full-time for about two months, Boren said.<\/p>\n
Tax records confirmed Boren listed the District 4 home as his homestead. His home in the county was not listed as a homestead, according to the Lubbock Central Appraisal District.<\/p>\n
The City Charter said, \u201cThe Mayor and all Councilmembers shall be bona fide residents within the City and within the applicable District at the time of filing for office and must continue to reside within the City and the applicable District during the term of office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boren told LubbockLights.com, \u201cI\u2019m not an attorney, but I can read the charter, 33 pages. It don\u2019t take a neophysicist attorney to figure out what it says. What it says \u2013 on the day of filing, you had to be a resident of that district.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNaturally, I\u2019ve engaged counsel, and we\u2019re going to pursue them very hard,\u201d Boren said.<\/p>\n
Boren indicated the first step was a letter from his attorney \u2013 Eric Opiela \u2013 to the city. Boren said he has not yet filed anything in court but that could change by the end of the day Monday. <\/p>\n
Opiela is listed as president on the South Texans\u2019 Property Rights Association website. He was also appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the Texas Funeral Service Commission in 2022 and reappointed this year.<\/p>\n
Mayor Mark McBrayer said, \u201cI believe he was qualified to run for office and should be on the ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n
He expressed his disagreement to the city attorney when this issue was discussed last week, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m an attorney, too, and I know how to read a statute,\u201d McBrayer said. <\/p>\n
The Texas Local Government Code requires, generally, a year of residency before someone can for City Council. However, that\u2019s not the case for a home rule city which has a charter.<\/p>\n
The city charter can have<\/a> a residency requirement. But Lubbock\u2019s charter only requires someone to be a resident at the time of filing and remain in the district while in office.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll tell you this, my driver\u2019s license, my voting record \u2013 I\u2019ll be voting the primary at District 4 \u2013 and my homestead is District 4. I don\u2019t know how much more I could do,\u201d Boren said.<\/p>\n McBrayer said, \u201cI hope this is resolved in such a way that his name is put back on the ballot and the citizens are allowed to determine who they want to be their city council representative.\u201d<\/p>\n Boren, a retired businessman, was appointed by Governor Abbott to serve on the Brazos River Authority Board of Directors in late 2019 to a six-year term. He also serves currently on the county\u2019s Local Government Corporation for the Expo Center.<\/p>\n Boren served on the council in District 3 from 2002 until March 2007 when he resigned. Boren ran unsuccessfully for Lubbock County Judge in 2022.<\/p>\n Boren was previously senior vice president of G. Boren Services. The company was acquired by KTBlack Services<\/a>.<\/p>\n Letter to Boren from city <\/p>\n City of Lubbock, Texas March 31, 2026<\/p>\n Certified Mail xxxxxxxxxx Gary Boren Dear Mr. Boren:<\/p>\n Re: Notice of Rejected Application for a Place on the City of Lubbock\u2019s Special Election Ballot (District 4 Position)<\/p>\n I have reviewed your application for \u201cCity Council \u2013 District 4\u201d and have determined that, based on the information you provided in the application, you are ineligible to be a candidate for this office because you do not meet the minimum length of continuous residence in District 4.<\/p>\n Texas Elec. Code Ann. \u00a7 141.001(5) states that, in order to be eligible to be a candidate for a public elective office, the person must \u201chave resided continuously \u2026 in the territory from which the office is elected for six months immediately preceding \u2026 the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate\u2019s application for a place on the ballot. \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run for the District 4 Lubbock City Council position is April 27, 2026. Your application, filed on March 26, 2026, states that you have resided in District 4 for two months and thus fails to meet the minimum residency requirement. As such, pursuant to Section 145.003(i) of the Texas Election Code, I am sending you this written notice determining that you do not meet the qualifications to run for City Council for District 4 of the City of Lubbock. Accordingly, your name will not be placed on the ballot for the upcoming election.<\/p>\n Thank you for your attention to this matter.<\/p>\n Should you have any questions, please call 806-775-xxxx.<\/p>\n Sincerely,<\/p>\n Courtney Paz
City Secretary<\/p>\n
& Regular Mail<\/p>\n
xxxx Memphis Avenue
Lubbock, Texas 79423<\/p>\n
City Secretary
City of Lubbock<\/p>\n
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