TX Supreme Court rejects plaintiffs' challenge on Houston's Term Limits

[Blue Dogs]

The Houston Chronicle reported that the TX Supreme Court's decision this week on Houston's 2015 Term Limits Referendum all but ensures voters of the Space City will NOT be seeing the November Mayoral elections that the plaintiffs were hoping to see badly.

 

The TX Supreme Court on Monday, denied plaintiffs' attempts to expedite their case challenging the ballot language that lengthened citywide officeholders' terms from 3 2-year terms to 2 4-year terms back in the November 3rd, 2015 elections, making it unlikely the matter will be resolved before the state's August 21st deadline to ordering a fall election.

 

Instead, the case is being repositioned to return to trial court for a hearing on whether the wording on the city's Proposition 2 authorizing 2 4-year terms instead of 3 2-year terms (which was originally put in place back in 1991), was too obscure.

 

"There's no way," Austin election lawyer Buck Wood said. "I don't see any way that they're going to get any final order in time for the filing deadline." Plaintiffs' attorney Erick Dick (who ran unsuccessfully for Mayor), conceded the timing makes a November Mayoral election unlikely. "But I don't think it's impossible," Dick added, saying he plans to ask the TX Supreme Court to reconsider it's decision.

 

The TX First Court of Appeals sided with Dick in January on a procedural issue, but the trial court has yet to consider the substance of the case.

 

http://www.chron.com/news/politics/houston/article/Attorney-No-way-term-limits-case-forces-11397494.php

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/City-loses-appeal-on-procedural-challenge-to-term-10854478.php

 

Like to hear your thoughts on these developments considering those, who were part of the 1991 Term Limits Initiative, are hell-bent on going back to the Status Quo & if their efforts will be successful.