Harris County clerk cries foul on Garcia
Stanart says she’s delaying resignation to enhance pension
Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart is accusing state Sen. Sylvia Garcia of delaying her resignation to boost her state pension even though it could leave 840,000 people in and around Houston without representation when the Texas Legislature convenes in January.
Stanart sent a sharply worded letter to reporters accusing Garcia of playing political games to make him look bad and boost her own finances. Garcia, who is running for Congress, last week called on Stanart to call a special election for her soon-to-be-vacant state Senate seat because Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has refused to call one.
Abbott’s staff has told Garcia that her “intent to resign” letter is insufficient. Abbott’s chief of staff has told Garcia she has to submit a letter without the word “intent.” Garcia has refused to do so, saying her intent to resign should be enough and that she wants to continue to represent her constituents until another senator takes office.
The waiting game?
Stanart, who is up for re-election this November, says in a statement to the media that Garcia’s staff is trying to make “some political points by dragging me into this issue.” He said he does not have the authority to call a special election for her Senate district as Garcia’s attorney had contended.
“I also understand that the likely reason you want to delay your resignation until after Jan 1, 2019, is to increase your state pension,” Stanart said.
In a follow-up interview, Stanart said he did not know how much money per year Garcia stands to gain by waiting until January to resign. State lawmaker pensions typically require a minimum of eight years of service for vesting. Garcia has been in office for about five years and five months. But she would be able to combine her previous service in county government to boost her pension returns.
Garcia won her Democratic primary in the 29th Congressional District and is heavily favored to defeat Republican Phillip Aronoff in the general election.
If she wins, her salary will be $174,000 a year. Plus, according to Garcia’s financial disclosure reports, she also collects $60,840 a year from the city of Houston for her pension from serving as a judge and as the city’s controller. She was a judge from 1993 to 1998. She was controller from 1998 to 2002.
She also receives a $30,981 a year pension from the county for her service on the commissioners’ court from 2002 to 2010. Currently, she earns $6,640 a year as a state senator. She has been in the Senate since winning a special election in March 2013.
Garcia’s statement
Garcia did not agree to interviews for this story but sent a statement to the Houston Chronicle that does not answer whether she financially benefits from delaying her retirement to January.
“The Governor won’t do his job, and apparently, neither will members of his Party with the responsibility to enforce the State Constitution,” Garcia said in the statement. “I have no intention of stooping to their game of personal attacks. Instead, I will continue fighting to make sure the 850,000 Texans of SD 6 have a Senator on the floor Day 1 of the legislative session.”
The 6th District she represents includes Houston’s East End, South Houston, part of Pasadena and stretches out to Baytown.
If Garcia had resigned before Aug. 20, Abbott could have set a special election for her replacements to battle in a special election Nov. 6, the same day as the midterm elections.
Instead, Abbott says he is unable to set a special election until after the general election, which increases the risks of not having a new member in place when the Legislature next meets Jan. 8. That could be an issue for Democrats in the Senate who are greatly outnumbered. The Senate has 20 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
If that remains the breakdown after the election, Democrats could enter the session with 10 Democrats while a special election is set up.
Two Houston Democrats have publicly stated they will run for the 6th District when a special election is declared.
State Reps. Carol Alvarado and Ana Hernandez have said they will run for the seat.