Federal judge denies MW partisans' motion to halt electioneering rule
Apr. 26—FORT WORTH — A federal judge on Friday denied the request of a group of Palo Pinto County partisans to kill a rule restricting them to a designated area in which to support their candidates for Mineral Wells city council.
Senior District Judge Terry Means denied the motion by city hall critic Johanna "Joey" Miller and two affiliated groups for a preliminary injunction on the county's newly enacted electioneering rule.
The April 8 decision by the commissioners court took aim at the early voting site at the courthouse annex in Mineral Wells.
It was Senior District Judge Terry Means' second ruling against Miller, who along with the Palo Pinto County Conservatives and Grass Roots Mineral Wells sued County Judge Shane Long and the four county commissioners on April 16.
Means' Friday afternoon ruling, from a hearing in the Fort Worth federal courts building earlier that morning, denied the plaintiffs' motion to temporarily halt the new rule. It followed an April 19 denial by the judge of a request to outright kill it.
The regulation restricts so-called electioneering outside the courthouse annex in Mineral Wells to the grass on either side of the three-column parking area. (The central double-row of parking spots is off limits as it connects to the driveway from Fifth Avenue).
The county acted on a section of the Texas Elections Code that allows the government to regulate the "time, manner and place" of campaigning outside the already in-place 100-foot perimeter at polling sites.
Judge Means wrote, in a one-page ruling, that the injunctive relief the plaintiffs sought is "denied in all respects."
The new regulation does not apply to two other county early voting sites, Stawn City Hall and the Graford ISD board meeting room, as they are not county property.
Hours for all three are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday. Election Day is May 4.
The county rule also includes a cap on the number of signs per candidate/issue that can be placed, another objectionable regulation for the plaintiffs. Any placed in the ground must be removed 30 minutes after each day's voting period.
Violation of elements in the four-page electioneering rule are considered a Class C misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $500 but no jail time.
But it's the physical restriction that draws the most ire from plaintiffs.
They say the rules put a damper on voters' enthusiasm for participating in the democratic process.
"Plaintiffs fear committing a criminal offense under the electioneering order if they carry a sign in the wrong place," the filing reads. "Citizens who would otherwise participate in plaintiffs' electioneering activities for the upcoming election have expressed a reluctance to participate..."
Early voting for the May 4 election started last Monday and continues through this coming Tuesday.
The ballot pits two incumbent council members and Mayor Regan Johnson against challengers who signed on in protest of a 146 percent water rate hike.
The increase is woven into a $277.5 million state loan the Palo Pinto County Municipal Water District No. 1 hopes to secure.
All but $77.5 million of that is to build Turkey Peak Reservoir, just below Lake Palo Pinto which the district also owns. The rest includes $40 million to replace a 60-year-old water treatment plant and other water infrastructure.
The water issues have broiled Mineral Wells for months and spurred three recall elections against council incumbents that also are on the May ballot.
Now, the water war has spilled over to the county.
The court enacted its electioneering regulation on April 8 in response to activities at the Mineral Wells poll during the March party primaries.
The Republican contest included a rematch between Texas House Rep. Glenn Rogers and Mike Olcott, the latter winning by close to 27 points.
Commissioners unveiling the new regulation cited that contest in relaying accounts of a raucous scene outside the Annex voting site. It included complaints by voters of being aggressively approached as they made their way to the door to vote.
Johanna "Joey" Miller, plaintiff in the suit along with the Palo Pinto County Conservatives and Grass Roots Mineral Wells PAC, issued a statement explaining what spurred the groups to sue.
"The city council and the county commissioners all publicly backed Glenn Rogers," Miller said. "This is not how city/county government should be run, and this is why we filed a suit against them."
The suit complains the new regulation puts a chilling effect on the pro-Olcott, anti-lake campaigners. Miller echoed that in her statement, issued Tuesday through the groups' attorney, Tony McDonald.
"We don't feel comfortable electioneering with these restrictions," she told the Weatherford Democrat. "These restrictions are incredibly limiting and unconstitutional. It is pretty obvious that the city/county changed the rules because we beat them in the primaries.
"We are extremely disappointed that the city/county is trying to limit our ability to electioneer and infringing upon our First Amendment rights."
On Tuesday afternoon, six to 10 members of the opposition group were heeding the new rules as they held signs, smiled and waved toward voters arriving intermittently.
"It's, you know, it's going as good as it can go for being restricted," organizer Brandon Johnson said. "With the county cutting us down, I really believe it infringed on our ability to redress our government and communicate with our fellow men and women."
Across the parking lot in the second electioneering area designated by the county, incumbent Mayor Regan Johnson and supporter Bridgett Worley held signs and waved at passing cars.
Brandon Johnson also indicated opposing the incumbents has painted the group in a poor light.
"We've got a bad reputation," he said, adding the Palo Pinto County Conservatives have been "kicked out" of the Fifty Year Club, a downtown meeting venue.
"We don't know who made the call, but we can't meet at the VFW," he added. "We can't meet at the American Legion, we can't meet at the school — now this place."
