Embattled county judge faces challenge
Keough sets off chain reaction by saying he’ll run
A state representative from The Woodlands plans to run for Montgomery County judge in the March Republican Party primary.
Mark Keough, who represents District 15, announced his candidacy Wednesday, just two days after the legislative session ended and with a potential special session looming. His second term as representative expires in 2019.
Keough’s announcement set off a political chain reaction. Incumbent Judge Craig Doyal, who was indicted on a charge of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act, plans to seek re-election when his term is up at the end of 2018. Steve Toth, Keough’s predecessor, confirmed he will seek Keough’s seat. And Toth has predicted that others may vie to take Doyal’s place.
Keough said he knows the community is divided on issues such as county finances and government ethics, and he wants to work on those, along with law enforcement and mobility. He added that he’s already getting “lots of support” and predicted a “very exciting race.”
‘A difficult situation’
“The reason I pulled the trigger on this deal is two reasons,” Keough said. “I feel in the House of Representatives I have done a good job … and what can I do for the most amount of people in the shortest amount of time?
“This county is in a difficult situation, and it seems like it is not going away.”
Doyal won the judgeship in 2014 and took office in January 2015 after serving as the county’s Precinct 2 commissioner for 14 years.
He didn’t win easily. Mark Bosma, Montgomery County’s former infrastructure director, edged out Doyal, 17,228 votes to 17,133, in the primary. But he fell short of 50 percent because of votes cast for a third candidate, which forced a runoff. In the May 2014 runoff, Doyal topped Bosma by more than 3,000 votes.
In February, Doyal said he planned to seek re-election.
Toth and The Woodlands Township Board Chairman Gordy Bunch, who had been asked to challenge Doyal, said in February the turmoil surrounding Doyal could motivate even more people “off the bench” to file as candidates. Both have said they have no personal plans to run for county judge.
Doyal and two county precinct commissioners, Jim Clark and Charlie Riley, were indicted June 24, 2016, on a charge of conspiring to circumvent the open meetings law. The charge related to a $280 million road bond passed by voters in November 2015. A political consultant, Marc Davenport, was indicted on the same charge.
Clark and Riley also are up for re-election in 2018 and plan to run. Bob Bagley, who lost to Clark in a runoff in 2014, has announced he plans to challenge Clark.
In the open meetings case, Doyal’s attorney, Houston-based Rusty Hardin, alleged the four were charged under an unconstitutional part of the state’s open meetings law. On April 5, a Wharton County state district court judge, Randy Clapp, ruled at least part of the law is unconstitutional because it is vague, overbroad and violates free speech.
Clapp, who was acting as a visiting judge in Montgomery County, dismissed the charges against Doyal, Riley and Davenport.
Clark had previously accepted pretrial diversion to get his case dismissed if he testified for the state against the other men.
The state has since filed notice to appeal Clapp’s decision. The case is now pending in the 9th Court of Appeals.
‘Honor to serve’
According to his campaign site, Keough received a bachelor’s degree from Cedarville University, a private institution in Cedarville, Ohio.
He obtained master’s degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary and Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Ind. He also attended the University of Cincinnati.
For more than two decades, Keough was in automobile sales, including 14 years as the general sales manager of Northside Lexus in north Harris County. He left the automobile business to establish Mark Keough Ministries, which includes the Pathfinders Fellowship of The Woodlands. In addition to his continuing work as a pastor and radio host, he has been the headmaster of a private Christian school.
Keough and his wife Kim have four children.
Doyal could not be reached for comment.