\u201cIt\u2019s definitely personal. And I believe political,\u201d said Cary Shaw, Precinct 3 (northeast Lubbock County) commissioner.<\/p>\n
Parrish disagreed, saying, \u201cAs the county judge, it\u2019s my job to defend the Constitution and laws of the state of Texas. I want to give [Corley] a plaque and a flag and I hope there\u2019s a time where he can come back and let the people of Lubbock County thank him for his service to Lubbock County.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Texas, officials with more than 13 months left in their terms automatically resign if they run for a different office. Parrish issued a statement saying Corley became a candidate for Congress in mid-November \u2013 weeks before his official announcement on December 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you announce for candidacy or you become a candidate-in-fact, then you have triggered that automatic resignation,\u201d Parrish told LubbockLights.com.<\/p>\n
Corley denied it, saying he timed his announcement to not run afoul of the law.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Parrish] had security remove me from the Commissioner Court offices after I gathered up my things. So, I was having to pack like the rent was due to get out of there,\u201d Corley said less than an hour after he was asked to clear out his office.<\/p>\n
The written statement from his congressional campaign said, \u201cThis corrupt power grab will not stand. \u2026 This blatant political attack only proves one thing: Jason Corley\u2019s leadership has them scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
The issue needs clarification in district court \u201cpronto,\u201d according to one local attorney, who said both sides have interesting arguments.<\/p>\n
LubbockLights.com tried to contact Meurer Monday by calling the courthouse, asking various officials for a current number and then texting and calling a number listed for him on the Internet.<\/p>\n
\u2018This blew me out of the water\u2019<\/p>\n
Commissioner Michael Dalby, Precinct 1 (southwest Lubbock County), said he found out about three minutes before it happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no knowledge this was going to happen. I was not involved in any of this decision making. The judge acted on this on his own. This was on his own accord. This was not a court decision,\u201d Dalby told LubbockLights.com<\/p>\n
Shaw said, \u201cIt was probably 9 o\u2019clock when the deputies marched him by the door and I found out what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jordan Rackler, Precinct 4 (northwest Lubbock County) said, \u201cI think for respect of the Court, we should have had a heads up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had people today ask me to run for judge. This is gonna be big, I\u2019m afraid,\u201d Rackler said Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs to how this Court cannot work together to have one end goal, which is to serve the people \u2013 this was a surprise to me. This blew me out of the water,\u201d Rackler added.<\/p>\n
Shaw said, \u201cHe [Parrish] wants more money in the county budget. And he knew with three conservatives on the court, that\u2019s not going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had heard rumors that he was going to try to do this months ago,\u201d Shaw added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when there was talk Corley might run against Parrish for county judge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rackler agreed, saying, \u201cI had heard a rumor about three weeks ago that the judge was looking into this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorley does not mind standing up to the judge, but \u2026 since Jason wasn\u2019t running against the judge anymore for the [county] judge seat \u2013 since he had went on to Congress \u2013 I really didn\u2019t expect this to come out of the judge,\u201d Rackler said.<\/p>\n
Rackler wasn\u2019t sure if having Meuer on the court would change the court\u2019s consensus on budgeting and tax rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know anything about Mark [Meurer]. Today is the first time I\u2019ve ever talked to him. I know nothing about how he would vote or what his views are on some things,\u201d Rackler said.<\/p>\n
Parrish\u2019s reasoning<\/p>\n
The story began when Jodey Arrington announced he wouldn\u2019t run for reelection. Days later, on November 12, Corley announced an exploratory committee.\u00a0Everyone we talked to agreed that\u2019s not enough to trigger the automatic resignation.<\/p>\n
But Parrish pointed out a specific detail from the announcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had sent that from his \u2018Corley for Congress\u2019 Gmail account,\u201d Parrish said.<\/p>\n
Parrish also said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was also a P.O. box that was attached there too for written correspondence called \u2018Corley for Congress\u2019 \u2026 as well as two campaign graphics, \u2018Corley for Congress.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
(Parrish claimed campaign expenditures count as running a campaign.) \u201cAs far as I know, those P.O. boxes are not free. You have to pay for those. And so, this also would constitute a campaign expenditure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSaturday [November] the 15th, he sent a text message. \u2026 \u2018I\u2019m running for Congress in Congressional District 19.\u2019 It wasn\u2019t ambiguous. He said, \u2018I am running for Congress.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Corley](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Corley-for-Congress-Color-Center-Logo-1978x1451-1.jpg\"){kind=logo}
Logo in Corley press release about an exploratory committee. Credit: November 12 email<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just the text message and it\u2019s not just the e-mail, but given in total, that has triggered the \u2026 automatic resignation provision of the Texas Constitution,\u201d Parrish sad.<\/p>\n
LubbockLights.com told Parrish two other commissioners were concerned this was both personal and political.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that is potentially the narration here,\u201d he said, adding he would have done the same with any other commissioner \u2013 not just Corley.<\/p>\n
Parrish also said, \u201c[Corley] has not been removed from the courthouse. \u2026 He\u2019s perfectly free to be anywhere that the public can be in at the courthouse right now. \u2026 He was asked to get his personal effects out of the office, but he\u2019s not removed from the building at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
What Corley\u2019s lawsuit says<\/p>\n
Corley\u2019s attorney, Ben Garcia, electronically filed a lawsuit after regular hours Monday. The lawsuit is technically against Meurer to remove him from office and put Corley back in. But the claims are directed against Parrish.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The court record said, \u201cThe Lubbock County judge, Curtis Parrish, concluded that Commissioner Corley is a candidate for another office relying on the extremely broad definition of \u2018candidate\u2019 in Elections Code section 251.001(1), which does not even apply to candidates for election to the U.S. House of Representatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lawsuit makes a technical distinction between the Texas Election Code and a state constitutional provision for automatic resignation if a commissioner becomes a candidate for another office too soon.<\/p>\n
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