Recall election still expected, despite Bastrop Mayor's lawsuit against city secretary

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a writ of mandamus summons a court to ask a government official to perform their duty.

In the court document, Nelson alleges that the petition lacked the required number of signer affidavits per the Bastrop Home Rule Charter.

The document goes on to allege that Parker decided she “could ‘creatively’ comply with Section 10.07 [of the city charter] by simply adding their duplicated signatures to each page as a ‘signer’ and then executing the signer’s truth affidavit for that page,” adding that Irma said duplicate signatures were not counted.

Mayor Pro Tem John Kirkland, one of the petitioners, said barring an overturn of Parker's decision before the Feb. 14, 2025, deadline, the only step remaining for the recall election is for city officials to order it for May 3, 2025—the next city election date.

"If we get to February and the court, for whatever reason, still has not made a decision, we would still be obligated to move forward with the election according to our charter," Kirkland said.

The city retained Austin-area attorney George Hyde, who also confirmed the filing does not impede the city’s ability to pursue the recall election because there is no injunction.

“A motion would have to go into the mandamus for extraordinary remedy, but they would have to show there was some kind of harm done as a result,” Hyde said.

What happened

An investigation began in 2023 following accusations against Nelson for his alleged involvement with a Visit Bastrop investigation.

On July 25, a petition with more than 1,600 signatures from Bastrop voters was submitted to the Bastrop City Secretary's office.

During the Aug. 13 council meeting, Parker confirmed there were enough signatures in the petition according to Section 10.07 of the charter; however, she questioned whether the requirement regarding an affidavit for each petition page was met.

Petitioners were allowed to make corrections and resubmit the petition to Parker for acceptance per the charter. After review, Parker deemed the updated petition sufficient at the Sept. 17 council meeting.

According to the recall petition, Nelson “violated Bastrop’s Ethics Ordinance for Abuse of Position, Interference and been formally reprimanded for interfering in an investigation into misuse of public funds by his girlfriend."

“[Nelson] has apologized to God, his family and the public for his mistake,” Nelson’s attorney Bill Aleshire said. “An affair is not a matter of government business.”

Some context

• June 20, 2023: Nelson begins his mayoral position
• August 2023: Visit Bastrop employees file complaints about financial misconduct
• Aug. 31, 2023: Investigation into Nelson’s alleged misconduct begins
• Dec. 20, 2023: Investigation concludes
• Jan. 18: Ethics complaint is filed by Mayor Pro Tem John Kirkland
• April 10: Bastrop Ethics Commission issues a letter of reprimand against Nelson
• April 29: Council members pass a resolution placing eight limitations on Nelson
• July 25: The recall petition is submitted
• Aug. 13: Parker says she needs more time
• Aug. 24: Parker notifies petition organizers of the rejection
• Sept. 3: Petition organizers submit the updated petition
• Sept. 15: Parker notifies petitioners that the petition is sufficient
• Sept. 17: Parker publicly announces her findings
• Sept. 23: Nelson files the write of mandamus
• Feb. 14, 2025: Deadline for city officials to order the recall election
• May 3, 2025: Proposed election day