Two applicants seeking to replace Houston ISD Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones have failed to qualify for the November ballot, leaving five candidates running for the open seat, according to HISD officials.
Michael Maloney, an athletics coach, and Arthur Smith, a T-shirt printer, failed to qualify due to issues with their signature petitions, district officials said. Candidates can pay a $300 fee or collect signatures from registered voters living within the voting district boundaries to earn a spot on the ballot. Maloney and Smith said they collected more than the required 266 signatures, but HISD officials said some signatures were invalid.
“Errors included signatures for individuals who did not live in the appropriate school district, or did not live in the district for which the candidate sought election,” HISD officials said in a statement. “The district engaged an independent consulting firm to verify signatures and determine if they met legal requirements.”
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Maloney said he submitted more than 300 signatures from residents living in District II, but later discovered some individuals’ registered addresses were outside the District II zone. Maloney said he is exploring legal avenues for a write-in candidacy, adding that it appears unlikely he will be successful. The ballot does not contain a write-in option because no candidates declared a write-in candidacy by the mid-August deadline.
“It’s very grim, dim and disappointing, but I understand,” said Maloney, who has not been actively campaigning at public events.
Smith, who said he submitted about 280 signatures, blamed HISD administrators for his failure to appear on the ballot, accusing them of corruption and incompetence. Smith said he has filed a grievance with the district against an employee responsible for overseeing school board matters.
“They feel it’s OK for them to run around and make up their own rules inside the administration,” said Smith, who continues to appear at campaign-related events. “They told me I have some people from Galena Park and other parts of HISD (signing the petition). I know that’s false, because if that’s the case, show me the proof. They have not presented anything to me that shows the proof.”
This sort of thing has happened before, and no doubt will happen again. As I’ve said before, while I prefer to err on the side of being lenient towards the petition-submitters, these requirements are not onerous. Lots of other candidates manage to meet them successfully. As such, I have a hard time being overly sympathetic. If you want to run for office and you choose to go via the petition signature route to qualify, it’s on you to know and follow the law.