Tarrant County Precinct 8 Constable Michael Campbell says his opponent John Wright lied about his address on campaign forms and shouldn’t be allowed to run for constable in the precinct, an allegation Wright denies.
Campbell and Wright are both Democrats running in the March 5 primary, and whoever wins that primary will run for the seat unopposed by a Republican.
In a lawsuit filed Dec. 21, Campbell argues that Wright, currently a deputy constable, lives in far north Fort Worth, far from the Precinct 8 address the lawsuit says he put on his campaign filings. Precinct 8 covers neighborhoods south and east of downtown Fort Worth.
Campbell directed questions to his attorney, Jason Smith, who said Wright’s candidacy goes against the principles of the Democratic Party.
"It’s very important to have people from the community representing the community,” Smith said. “Mr. Wright is not a part of the community that is now represented by Constable Campbell."
Wright told KERA he can say with confidence he lives at the Precinct 8 address, but he declined to share proof before the court hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
"All this information is going to come out in open court, and I don't want that to be leaked at all between now and that day,” he said. “The element of surprise is on my side."
Campbell was first elected Precinct 8 constable in 2012, and he once fired Wright, according to a CBS 11 report from 2019.
CBS 11 had uncovered a “double-dipping” scheme at Precinct 8, where deputies worked other jobs on county time, leading to multiple criminal prosecutions. Wright, who told CBS he worked for Precinct 8 at the time of the scheme, said Campbell suspected he was the leak that led to the investigation and fired him. Wright appealed his firing and was reinstated, according to CBS.
Wright told KERA this lawsuit is, in part, an extension of their history.
"It’s retaliatory. At the same time, he's desperate, grasping at straws. He knows I'm running a strong campaign,” Wright said.
Campbell’s lawsuit argues Wright shouldn’t be allowed to run a campaign in Precinct 8 at all, because Wright’s true address is in far north Fort Worth.
Tarrant County Appraisal District records indicate Wright has owned the property in far north Fort Worth since 2014. There's also a homestead exemption listed for that address, a type of property tax break people can only apply to their principal residence, according to the state. Wright is not listed as the owner of the Precinct 8 house in Appraisal District records.
“Mr. Wright shouldn't be allowed to get the tax benefit of his homestead and yet claim to live somewhere else,” Smith said.
The lawsuit also includes an affidavit from private investigator Romalice Brumfield Jr., who staked out both the far north Fort Worth and Precinct 8 addresses. Brumfield only saw Wright at the far north Fort Worth home, and neighbors near the Precinct 8 address said that house had been vacant for a long time, the affidavit says. Brumfield concluded Wright lives at the home in far north Fort Worth.
Around 10 a.m. on Friday, a KERA reporter visited the Precinct 8 house, rang the doorbell and knocked several times. There was no response.
Campbell’s lawsuit is filed against Wright, the Tarrant County Democratic Party, and party chair Crystal Gayden.
Local political parties, which are in charge of campaign filings in primaries, have to accept those filings at face value, said Tarrant County Democratic Party attorney Steve Maxwell. They’re not required to do a deep fact-check.
"We did exactly what the statute requires us to do,” Maxwell said. “That's not to say we necessarily are saying, therefore, we concede that Mr. Wright is indeed a resident of Precinct 8. We’re not saying that at all.”
Before filing the lawsuit, Campbell asked the Tarrant County Democrats to remove Wright from the ballot, documents included in the lawsuit show.
Gayden has no power to do that, she told KERA.
"It’s wholly disheartening that we have to take away time and effort from party business to deal with situations where we did what we were supposed to do," she said.
Smith, the attorney representing Constable Campbell, said he also believes Gayden followed proper procedure.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaRSuarez.
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