. . .
Susan Hays, Dallas County Democratic Party chairwoman, ruled that Mr.
Garcia is ineligible to run in the March 9 Democratic primary for the House
District 103 seat because he did not prove that he has lived in the district
since Nov. 1, 2003.
"I regret having to kick a former
Democratic elected official off the ballot, but the law, and frankly
fairness, require it," Ms. Hays said.
Mr. Garcia said he was surprised by
the decision and attributed it to a "naive party chair who doesn't know what
the rules and law are."
"The fact of the matter is, I've
established residency and I'm going to be on the ballot, and I plan to win
the votes of the voters in District 103 and win the election," Mr. Garcia
said.
. . . No Republicans filed for the office, so
winning the Democratic primary would be tantamount to election to the
Legislature.
. . . Mr. Garcia said he intends to challenge Ms.
Hays' ruling. The address he listed in the candidate application is an
apartment in District 103.
. . . Ms. Hays said she expected a legal challenge
but hoped none would come.
. . . Ms. Hays said she believes that under Texas
law, "my hands are tied."
"The way the statute is designed, I
can take the [candidacy] application at face value, or I can go by what the
public record says," Ms. Hays said, adding that the public records she
examined prove to her that Mr. Garcia is ineligible to run for the District
103 seat.
. . . Mr. Garcia is married to City Council member
Elba Garcia.
Ms. Hays said that when questions
surfaced last week about Mr. Garcia's eligibility, she asked him to provide
evidence of his residency.
"He hit me with a couple of legal
theories as to why it didn't matter, and he never provided any evidence,"
she said. . . . Mr. Garcia's
voter registration and voting record, Dallas Central Appraisal District tax
records and his Texas driver's license. . . .
shows that Mr. Garcia's residence is at an address outside the
district. . . . in the City Council district
represented by his wife.
Mr. Garcia declined to say what it
means that the address that he provided on his application is not in the
same City Council district that his wife represents.
"I'm not even going to go there. The
only issue is: Am I a legal resident of the district, and I am," he said.
