City officials initially said Gary Boren had not lived in District 4 long enough to run, but an appeals court ruled that Lubbock’s charter—not the state’s default six-month requirement—controlled his eligibility.
Gary Boren successfully challenged the City of Lubbock’s decision to exclude him from the District 4 special-election ballot and has since advanced to an Aug. 1 runoff against Tim Green.
The dispute began after City Secretary Courtney Paz rejected Boren’s candidate application because he reported living in District 4 for only two months. Paz concluded that he failed to satisfy a six-month residency requirement in the Texas Election Code.
Boren maintained that Lubbock’s home-rule charter establishes a different requirement: A council candidate must live in the city and applicable district when filing for office and remain there throughout the term.
After Boren sought emergency relief, the Seventh Court of Appeals in Amarillo agreed with his interpretation and directed the city to accept his application.
Application rejected over residency
The special election was called after District 4 Councilman Brayden Rose announced his resignation March 10, citing family obligations. Boren announced his candidacy March 16 and submitted his application and filing fee March 26.
On his application, Boren stated that he had lived in Texas for 74 years but in District 4 for approximately two months.
Boren told Lubbock Lights in its original report that he and his wife had purchased a house outside the city in 2020. Following his mother’s death, he moved into her former home near 98th Street and Memphis Avenue, within District 4.
Appraisal records cited by the publication showed that Boren claimed the District 4 property as his homestead and did not claim the county property as a homestead.
Paz notified Boren on March 31 that his application had been rejected. She cited Section 141.001 of the Texas Election Code, which generally requires candidates to reside continuously in the territory they seek to represent for six months before the filing deadline.
Boren’s application showed only two months of district residency, making him ineligible under that provision if it controlled the election.
City charter created the legal dispute
Boren and his attorney, Eric Opiela, argued that the state’s six-month default did not apply because Lubbock is a home-rule city with its own charter qualifications.
The Lubbock City Charter says the mayor and councilmembers must be bona fide residents of the city and their applicable districts “at the time of filing for office.” It also requires them to remain residents during their terms.
The Election Code permits a home-rule charter to prescribe residence requirements different from the state’s general requirements. That created the central legal question: Did the charter’s point-in-time language replace the six-month rule, or did both standards apply?
Boren argued that the charter plainly made residency at the time of filing sufficient. Mayor Mark McBrayer publicly supported that interpretation and said District 4 voters should be allowed to decide whether Boren should represent them.
The city took the opposite position. In its appellate response, it argued that the charter specified when residency was measured but did not explicitly establish how long a candidate must have lived in the district. Because the charter was silent on duration, the city said, the Election Code’s six-month requirement filled the gap.
Appeals court sides with Boren
On April 7, Boren filed an emergency petition asking the Seventh Court of Appeals for a writ of mandamus—an order compelling a public official to perform a legal duty. The expedited request was necessary because ballots had to be finalized and mailed before the June 27 election.
In its April 24 memorandum opinion, the court rejected the city’s interpretation.
The judges found that the charter was not silent. Its “at the time of filing” language established an express residency standard that differed from the state’s six-month default. Texas law allows home-rule cities to create such requirements, the court concluded.
The court also applied the legal principle that restrictions on eligibility for public office should be interpreted narrowly, with uncertainty resolved in favor of ballot access.
“We agree with Boren,” the court wrote, concluding that Paz had misapplied the residency law and had a ministerial duty to accept his application.
The court conditionally granted Boren’s request and directed the city secretary to withdraw the ineligibility declaration. Paz accepted the ruling and placed his name on the ballot later that day, according to the city’s response reported by Lubbock Lights.
The decision resolved Boren’s eligibility under the existing charter. It did not hold that Texas lacks a general six-month rule; rather, it found that Lubbock’s authorized home-rule standard displaced that rule for City Council candidates.
Ballot victory leads to election runoff
Five candidates ultimately competed in the June 27 special election. The city’s official canvass recorded 1,230 votes for Green and 1,006 for Boren. Bill Curnow received 184, Stephanie Ferran received 121 and Boyd Goodloe received 72.
Because no candidate received a majority, the city ordered a runoff between Green and Boren for Aug. 1.
Green, a homebuilder and former Lubbock firefighter, has emphasized growth, infrastructure and attracting revenue from outside the existing tax base. Boren, a former District 3 councilman and Lubbock ISD trustee, has emphasized experience, government efficiency and reducing costs for taxpayers.
Boren served on the City Council from 2002 until resigning in 2007. He also serves on the Brazos River Authority board and the local government corporation overseeing the Lubbock County Expo Center project.
Early voting in the runoff runs from July 20 through July 28, with Election Day on Aug. 1, according to KCBD’s voting guide.
The dispute that initially threatened to end Boren’s campaign therefore produced a broader ruling about Lubbock’s charter—and left District 4 voters with the final decision.
