Term-limit suit seeks to invalidate election

Proposition 2 ballot language misled voters on issue, plaintiff maintains

A lawsuit filed against the city of Houston and Mayor Annise Parker on Thursday seeks to invalidate the Nov. 3 election that extended term limits for city officials.

Phillip Paul Bryant, a local stock trader, community activist and unsuccessful 2011 candidate for City Council, is the plaintiff in the suit, which was filed by conservative attorney Eric Dick, who also has run several unsuccessful campaigns for city office.

The suit alleges Parker and the City Council misled voters in setting the ballot language for Proposition 2, which asked whether the city charter should be changed to limit elected officials to two four-year terms, a total of eight years, beginning in January. ‘I don’t think that’s fair’

Previously, officials could serve up to three two-year terms, a total of six years. That system was put in place in 1991.

The suit alleges the ballot language obscured the essential facts of the vote by failing to spell out that officials would be able to serve longer in office, and that some incumbents would even be able to serve up to 10 years as a result of the vote. In particular, the lawsuit questions why the ballot said the vote would “limit the length for all terms” when terms were in fact being lengthened.

“The fact of that matter is the language on the ballot is clearly tilted to benefit incumbents. If the ballot language was clear and said exactly what it was doing it would have resoundingly failed,” Dick said. “I don’t think that’s fair to the voters. The more I start talking about this, a lot of people come out and say they were tricked.”

Parker spokeswoman Janice Evans disagreed, noting the measure sailed to passage with 65 percent in favor.

“Voters clearly understood what they were voting on,” Evans said. “The large margin of voter approval is proof of this. The city will mount a vigorous defense and is confident it will prevail.”

The suit seeks to undermine this message of clarity by referencing a comment Parker made the day after the election about the outcome of the vote, which surprised many observers.

“There may have been some voters confusion out there,” the mayor said on Nov. 4. “I don’t know that (voters) realized that they were giving council members more time in office.” Change in terms

Evans said this comment was directed at the impact of the change on incumbent council members, not on the overall proposition.

The term-limits change, as it stands today, lets current freshman council members who were reelected this fall serve two additional four-year terms, for a total of up to 10 years.

Those who have earned their third terms will now be permitted four years rather than two, for a to- tal of eight years served. Those finishing their third terms, including Parker, cannot run again.

Dick said he felt it important to file the suit in part because the Texas Supreme Court has twice this year accused the Parker administration of bungling ballot language.

The court ruled the 2010 item that established the city’s infrastructure repair fund, ReBuild Houston, was misleading, and also forced the council to change the ballot language it had initially approved for Proposition 1, the city’s rejected nondiscrimination ordinance.