From the Texas Tribune:
LUBBOCK — A West Texas county commissioner with aspirations for higher office was ejected from his seat this week, after the county judge accused the commissioner of violating the Texas Constitution — the latest twist in a yearslong feud between the two Republicans.
Judge Curtis Parrish, Lubbock County’s top elected official, removed Commissioner Jason Corley from his seat on Monday because Corley announced he was running for Congress outside of a window framed in the state constitution that would have allowed Corley to keep his seat.
Corley said he was escorted from the county courthouse with a security detail. He is suing to be reinstated.
“I had to pack like the rent was due and head out the door,” Corley told The Texas Tribune.
Parrish’s version of events isn’t as dramatic. Parrish denied he had Corley escorted out of the building. Nevertheless, the outcome of the lawsuit could have repercussions for future candidates, and the 1950s-era constitutional amendment that requires elected officials to resign from office if they decide to seek higher office, if their current term doesn’t end within 395 days.
Corley and Parrish have been locked in a public tug-of-war for more than a year. Most recently, the two men fought over the county budget, specifically over how to use taxes and which county employees and elected officials received raises.
Many county observers assumed Corley was planning to challenge Parrish for his seat. The county judge is the presiding officer of the five-member commissioners court and leads the emergency management department. In some cases, the county judge may perform some minor judicial tasks.
That all changed when U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, a Lubbock Republican, announced he wouldn’t seek reelection, opening the door for a new Republican candidate from the region. Since then, five Republican candidates have announced their campaigns for his seat, including Corley.
Corley announced he formed an exploratory committee to gauge support for his campaign in November. He officially filed as a candidate on Dec. 2 — one year and 29 days before his term as a commissioner was set to end.
A fight over raises
This week’s ordeal was not the opening salvo between the two men.
Last year, Corley — who fashions himself as a hardline Republican willing to fight anyone, including fellow Republicans, for his constituents — staged a monthlong walkout with another commissioner to break quorum to ensure the county did not collect more tax revenue than the year before. They made it clear they would not show up to meetings until after a deadline set by law that triggers flat revenue levels for the county. This led to $7.2 million being used from reserves for the upcoming year to balance the county budget.
The two men squared off over the budget again this year. Parrish wanted to increase the county's revenue. Corley said his constituents, which include the city of Slaton, could not afford it. Corley’s crusade was aided by other commissioners — including one, newly elected — he deemed “good.”
Parrish lost.
Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish speaks about the ultimate sacrifice first responders and their families make at Lubbock Regional Fallen First Responder Memorial on May 8, 2025 in Lubbock. And there was more political theater. At budget hearings, Corley argued with constituents and the bowtie-wearing Parrish about taxes and pay raises to retain county employees. Parrish argued the county needed to pay certain employees — especially the sheriff and clerks — more to retain quality staff.
County employees attended at least one hearing as the commissioners debated their raises and cost-of-living adjustments. At one point, Corley asked county employees to raise their hands, then asked them, “Who is doing your jobs at this moment?” When they began to respond, Corley cut them off and said it was a rhetorical question. Parrish let them continue, which also upset Corley.
In September, Parrish told The Tribune that Corley’s actions are dangerous and that he has shown contempt for county employees. He says they are the greatest asset the county has, and now worries about the retention rate and losing good employees as a result of the budget hearings this year.
“For us to not take care of them or to hold them in contempt is, I believe, a very wrong thing to do,” Parrish said. “It’s very hurtful to them and to providing services to the people in Lubbock County.”
Parrish says Lubbock County has one of the lowest tax rates in the state. The next few years look financially grim for the county, he says.
“I think what we’re going to see is a decrease in services,” Parrish said. “And as people figure out that their services are going to be diminished, I think you’re probably going to see a cry back to the commissioners court of ‘We do like lower taxes, but we also want good government.’”
A majority of commissioners, including Corley, voted against pay raises for most county staff. But they approved a 2% raise for themselves. Ahead of the vote, Parrish filed an amendment to cut his own raise and instead divide it up for raises for other officeholders, such as the county treasurer and clerk. Two commissioners said they would donate their raise back to the county’s bottomline.
Corley took his.
“Yeah, we’re going to give elected officials this because who do you want running your county? Do you want well-paid professionals or underpaid idiots?” Corley said. “I want good people to afford these positions.”
A new battle
Now, the two Republicans are starting a new battle that will ultimately be settled by a judge, and that decision may have implications for others who may want to run for office in the future.
Drew Landry, a government professor at South Plains College who has long observed Lubbock politics, said the legal challenge may be a boon for Corley.
“He’s going to maximize this opportunity in every way possible to try and boost his profile as he runs for Congress, and at the same time, lower the county judge’s profile,” Landry said. “He’s going to kill two birds with one stone.”
In an interview this week with the Tribune, Parrish, who is also an attorney, said Corley’s actions triggered an automatic resignation under the state constitution. The resign-to-run law requires an officeholder, specifically county officials, who “shall in fact” become a candidate for any paid office to resign if they become a candidate more than one year and 30 days before their current term is over. Corley’s term on the commissioners court was scheduled to end Dec. 31, 2026.
Corley announced his exploratory committee to media outlets on Nov. 12 with “Corley for Congress” graphics, a P.O. box, a media adviser with related email addresses. On Nov. 15, Corley also sent a text message declaring his run for Congress and seeking their support, though he says that was a private conversation and not a public announcement.
Landry, the government professor, said the Texas Constitution doesn’t make it clear as to when a candidate becomes one, and the ruling on Corley’s lawsuit will depend on who the judge is and what the arguments are.
“It’s one of those things where if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, I guess it’s a duck,” Landry explained. “It would be a lot easier if the legislature made a further amendment in the next session, and maybe this will spur them to say what it means.”
Parrish said his interpretation of the law led him to deem Corley’s office as vacant.
“He stated very clearly, both in fact and announcement, he doesn’t want to be a county commissioner anymore. He wants to be a congressman,” Parrish said.
Corley said he was working with an Austin-based attorney to specifically avoid this outcome. Corley previously sought election to the same Congressional District 19 seat in 2016, and said the email and signage were left over from his old campaign.
Corley filed his lawsuit against Mark Meurer, a fellow Slaton resident, who Parrish swore in to replace Corley. A judge denied Corley’s request for a temporary restraining order against Meurer Wednesday, which would have stopped Meurer from serving as the commissioner. A hearing is scheduled next week to take up the issue again.
A GoFundMe was started this week to help Corley pay for his legal defense.
Corley said the lawsuit is an inconvenience for his congressional race because it ties up his time. However, he said it’s about the right of his constituents to be represented by someone they chose through the election process.
“I’ve been labeled in the past with a hot temper and easily frustrated,” Corley said. “Well, now everybody sees what I deal with.”
Parrish said he fulfilled his statutory requirement by appointing Meurer to serve as the commissioner until the general election next November. He said would take the same actions for any other commissioner if they took the same actions Corley did.
“It just happened to be Jason Corley,” Parrish said. “But I would have done the same thing as the county judge. My actions would have been exactly the same no matter who the office holder was.”
Parrish said he wished Corley luck on his congressional campaign on Monday and thanked him for his service. Parrish says he told Corley it was fine if he wanted to stay and watch the commissioner’s meeting, “just like any other citizen.”
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.