A little too little and a little too late, if you ask me.
Dave Wilson
Houston Community College Trustee Dave Wilson has made his way to Austin — in spirit, at least.
A bill filed by state Rep. Harold Dutton of Houston would make it a felony to misrepresent one’s residence when running for office — something Wilson has been accused of doing. He has been cleared by both a jury and a judge.
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Dutton’s bill would make lying about residency to run for office a third degree felony — on the level of assault, theft or evading arrest — which is punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Wilson, who maintains that he lives in District II, takes credit for inspiring the bill, calling it “the Dave Wilson bill.”
“I’m honored that I’m so important that I have the state Legislature spending their time writing a bill about it,” Wilson said.
Should the bill get a hearing, Wilson says he’ll show up to speak in favor of it: “I think people should live in the district they run for.”
The man knows how to troll, I’ll give him that much. Dutton’s bill is HB816. I appreciate the effort, but this doesn’t address the real issue, which is that there’s no enforceable standard for residency, which the Wilson case proved. Under what circumstances would anyone even break this law? Let’s address that question, then we can worry about punishment.