The 269th District Court in Harris County ruled that the election will take place Dec. 12, according to an Oct. 21 news release from the Harris County Clerk's Office.
The race for District B, which includes parts of the Humble area, took place last November with 14 candidates in the running. Tarsha Jackson and Cynthia Bailey claimed the top two slots with 20.85% and 14.45% of votes, respectively, according to Harris County Clerk’s Office election results. Coming in at third was Renee Jefferson Smith, who received 13.41% of the votes.
As Jackson and Bailey were primed to head to the Dec. 14 runoff election, Jefferson Smith filed a legal challenge asserting that Bailey should not be allowed to run for office as she has a felony conviction, Community Impact Newspaper reported.
Although a judge ruled in early January that the runoff election could continue in May with both Jackson and Bailey on the ballot, the election was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to an Oct. 20 news release from Outreach Strategists, a public relations company.
Then on Aug. 10 the First Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision that the race between candidates could happen as early as the Nov. 3 election.
In the Oct. 21 news release, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins confirmed the appellate court's ruling.
“District B residents will have waited for a chance to have their voices heard at the ballot box for over a year. This December, at long last, they will be able to choose their representative on City Council,” Hollins said in the news release. “It’s a shame that it has taken this long to determine the future of District B, but I’m glad that this matter will soon be put to rest. Voters in District B will have an important decision to make this December.”
