The Bryan city council is asking the Attorney General’s office to investigate a woman who has collected city charter petition signatures and has voted in city elections, but does not live in the city.
Councilwoman Ann Horton did not identify the person who has also attended multiple meetings.
WTAW News left a phone message and sent an e-mail to a person requesting confirmation whether she was the target of the council’s action, and if so, to offer a response to the allegations.
Reading from a prepared statement, Horton said “In my opinion, evidence has come forward that gives me reason to believe that a person who is not a citizen is attempting to influence city government by circulating a petition to rewrite portions of the Bryan city charter. And in such as my duty to the citizens of Bryan to ask that this matter be looked into. While our citizens are certainly encouraged to participate and to sign petitions, in my opinion anyone who is not a citizen of Bryan is precluded by the city charter from circulating, signing, and acknowledging petitions to change the city charter. Neither are they in my opinion eligible to vote in city elections and I believe that a public declaration made often over the course of several years that a person’s residence is located in Bryan doesn’t necessarily doesn’t make it so. For these reasons, it’s my opinion that this should be investigated. Therefore, I move that we as members of the Bryan City Council ask the Mayor to send a letter to the Attorney General of the state of Texas, requesting that the Attorney General investigate this matter with all haste.”
Click below for comments from Ann Horton.
The council voted 6-0 on Horton’s motion. Rafael Pena abstained because he helped circulate petitions associated with the accused.
The council did not consider whether to cancel this November’s charter election, which asks voters to consider three changes; whether to ban relatives of council members from being hired or appointed to city positions, whether to ban council members from considering items presented by campaign donors of more than $250 dollars, and whether to ban council members from mentioning their position when campaigning for other political candidates.
