House Hopefuls Say Primary Rival
is Faking Residency in Open Race
Capitol Inside
December 30, 2021
A pair of Republican primary rivals are accusing former Southlake Mayor Laura Hill of skirting state law with an empty apartment that she rented recently to meet the residency requirements for an open race for the Texas House 93 seat in Tarrant County in 2022.
HD 93 contenders Cary Moon and Nate Schatzline submitted a formal complaint on Thursday to the Tarrant County GOP amid the assertion that the home that Hill now claims is a sham. Shatzline and Moon contended that Hill is a longtime resident of the Fort Worth suburb of Southlake where she still lives.
Hill's two first-round foes want the local party organization to reverse a decision to approve her application for a spot on the March 1 primary ballot in the competition to replace GOP State Rep. Matt Krause of Fort Worth in HD 93. Krause is giving up the House seat after 10 years in favor of a bid for Tarrant County district attorney instead next year.
Moon and Schatzline argue that Hill's ballot application was flawed because she failed to list a permanent address beyond a zip code in Haltom City that isn't in HD 93. Hill's opponents said it was evident that the ex-mayor and longtime council member from Southlake wasn't really a resident in HD 93 when a Schatzline canvassing worker noticed that multiple campaign doorhangers had ramined on the front door of her ostensible new living quarters in the district where she's running.
Hill wouldn't be the first legislative candidate in Texas to have two or more residences including official homesteads that are located outside districts they're competing to represent. The practice is common in a state where the legal residency restrictions have only been for show and rarely enforced.
Hill was elected to the Southlake council initially in 2004. She served six years as mayor before leaving office in 2019. Hill runs family businesses that specialize in yellow pages publishing and ice cream. Hill is touting perennial votes to cut property taxes. She's also taking credit for staving off efforts to defund the police and spread critical race theory in the public schools.
Moon has significant experience at the local level as well - having served on the Fort Worth City Council for a half-dozen years. "Cary injects his conservative principles, professional skills, and experience to make sure Fort Worth does not become Austin nor Dallas," according to Moon's campaign web site.
Schatzline is a conservative activist who founded an organization called For Liberty & Justice that seeks to reform government through a coordinated effort by churches.
“Laura Hill clearly doesn’t live in the apartment she falsely claimed as her residence,” Schatzline said. “Her ballot application misrepresents her residency. What voters want is someone who will fight for the truth and tell the truth. Her ballot application is not truthful. She should be removed.”
Moon seconded the objection.
"There is a fair process for candidates to document and to establish residency within a district," Moon said. "Texas law is in place to ensure representation for people, by people, who live in the same district. A stark error has been made. The Tarrant County GOP should have a cure for the default, otherwise the application is void." |
