Fort Bend County Commissioners Court discussed Nehls and his position during a closed session Oct. 8, Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers confirmed. No action was taken.
After the court adjourned, Precinct 1 Commissioner Vincent Morales said an email sent to County Judge KP George insinuated Nehls had announced he was running in the 2020 election for U.S. House of Representatives Texas District 22, which covers Sugar Land and portions of Katy and Pearland.
According to Article 16, Section 65 of the Constitution of the State of Texas, if a sheriff announces candidacy for another office more than one year and thirty days from the end of their current term, then he or she automatically resigns from the current position.
"But [Nehls] has not said that," Morales said. "He has an exploratory committee from what we understand. The clarification today was that there’s nothing against the law doing that."
When asked whether the court intended to replace Nehls, Morales replied no.
"Today was informational purposes based on an email from a constituent and we got clarification from the county attorney’s office that basically says everything is in accordance with the law," Morales said.
George declined to provide additional comment about the closed session and Nehls.
Nehls posted a tweet about 90 minutes before the Oct. 8 meeting that the court was planning to discuss removing him as sheriff.
The FBC Comm Court intends to discuss removing me from office today at their 1p meeting. The Dem County Judge has even met with other Dems to choose who “he” would appoint to replace me. I’ve done nothing wrong. A Dem-led witch-hunt has now entered FBC. Sad!
— Sheriff Troy Nehls (@SheriffTNehls) October 8, 2019
Nehls announced July 10 that he would not seek a third term as Fort Bend County Sheriff. He has served since 2012. His term will be up in 2020.
Nehls, a Republican, posted on his Facebook page Sept. 26 that he has formed an exploratory committee to pursue a 2020 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives Texas District 22, which covers Sugar Land and portions of Katy and Pearland. According to the Facebook post, the committee has raised over $100,000 in donations.
U.S. Rep. Pete Olsen, R-Sugar Land, announced this summer he would not seek re-election for District 22. He was first elected in 2008.
Pearland City Council Member Derrick Reed, as well as Sri Kulkarni and Nyanza Moore, have announced they are running in the Democratic primary for the seat. Diana Miller and Greg Hill announced they will run as Republicans.
