Two say they are considering lawsuits in Eagle residency challenge

The matter of whether to hire legal counsel to help appropriately deal with a petition calling for an investigation into whether Precinct 4 Commissioner Dave Eagle lives in his precinct will not be on the Tuesday, May 10, Commissioners Court agenda as previously thought.

However, “It’s not over,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Ron Cotton told the Hood County News on Thursday.

And it may not be, regardless of what the Commissioners Court does or does not do.

Eagle’s defeated challenger in the March Republican primary and his Democratic challenger on the November ballot both told the HCN that they are considering suing Eagle in district court.

As far as Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting is concerned, Cotton said that some people assumed that he would put the matter on the agenda since he had done so for the April 26 meeting, but he didn’t because he was not ready to do so.

The matter was discussed during the regular meeting on the 26th, and then at a special meeting immediately afterward. The special meeting ended with the court voting 4-1 to table consideration of hiring an Austin law firm to guide the elected panel through the dicey process of dealing with the petition. Eagle voluntarily abstained from the vote.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Jack Wilson, who made the motion to table, commented that the issue would be placed on the agenda for the next meeting, but it was not. At the time this article was published, no amended agenda had been posted.

“It’s still under investigation,” Cotton said of the matter. “We’re just not ready to take it forward.”

Eagle previously called the petition “political theater” and said that his political opponents “make up negative stuff about me like this residency issue,” but did not respond last month to multiple requests from the HCN for additional information.

There are a couple of factors that complicate what is already an unusual situation.

The quandary began on April 12 when Doug Moore submitted to the Commissioners Court a petition signed by 120 people asking for an investigation by out-of-county authorities into Eagle’s residency claims.

Eagle, who has two businesses in Lipan in Precinct 1, claims as his residence a mobile home at 2615 Hillside Dr. in Oak Trail Shores in Precinct 4. Rumors have swirled since Eagle first ran for office in 2018 that he does not actually live there, and the mobile home appeared to possibly be uninhabited in photos posted recently on social media.

Eagle has a homestead exemption for that property and lists that address on his voter registration, but that may not be enough to legally hold his elected seat or his place on the November ballot.

Changes to the Election Code that took effect last Sept. 1 and were in place when Eagle submitted candidate paperwork to seek a second term removed ambiguity in what used to be a gray area, possibly posing problems for Eagle’s residency claim.

Changes include this addition: “A person may not establish a residence at any place the person has not inhabited. A person may not designate a previous residence as a home and fixed place of habitation unless the person inhabits the place at the time of designation and intends to remain.”

At the April 26 Commissioners Court meeting, attended by some of Eagle’s supporters, tempers flared to the point where County Judge Ron Massingill at times called for order. Some in the audience claimed that the Commissioners Court had no authority in the matter and that any challenge should be filed in district court.

Since then, Cotton said that he has spoken with Jim Allison, an attorney for the Texas Association of Counties.

Based on his discussion with Allison, Cotton said that the only authority the Commissioners Court has in the matter is through the quo warranto process, which determines whether an elected official has the legal right to hold an office. That process would involve Eagle’s previous election win when he took office in 2019, Cotton said, and since the law regarding residency was less concrete at that time, such a challenge might fail.

The court also has no standing in terms of Eagle’s placement on the November ballot where he faces a challenge from Democrat Grant Wood, Cotton stated.

The commissioner said he further understood from speaking with Allison that the Commissioners Court could pose a challenge if Eagle is elected in November and seated in January.

Another possible way of removing Eagle if he does not meet legal requirements is if someone who lives in Precinct 4 files a lawsuit in district court challenging his residency claim, Cotton said.

Zach Maxwell, the candidate whom Eagle defeated in the Republican primary but who has denied any involvement with the petition, told the HCN that he might file such a suit.

“I’m exploring those options,” he said.

Democrat Wood said that he, too, is considering a lawsuit.

“I have and am exploring that option,” he said. “I have spoken to an attorney about it.”

If Eagle were to be removed from the ballot, the Republican Executive Committee would have until Aug. 29 to provide the elections administrator with a substitute nominee.