Breach of contract with voters by elected official.

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Redah

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Jurisdiction
Texas
If an elected official is aware of the Job Description, Qualifications of an office that he won in an election! Would the Job Description and Qualification create a Contract between the Official and the Taxpayer? Would the official be in 'Breach of Contract' if the official lies about Qualifications or fails to fulfill the Job Description?
 
Redah said:
If an elected official is aware of the Job Description, Qualifications of an office that he won in an election! Would the Job Description and Qualification create a Contract between the Official and the Taxpayer? Would the official be in 'Breach of Contract' if the official lies about Qualifications or fails to fulfill the Job Description?
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If a person is elected to public office, but otherwise would have been disqualified from running for said office, that's NOT a contract issue.

There is no constructive or actual contract between an elected official and his/her constituency.

The remedy would lie in the removal from office by judicial process, and perhaps criminal charges being filed by a prosecutor or state attorney general.
 
There is no contract. The electorate choose someone based on any number of factors to perform a job. Every person who voted had different reasons for selecting that person and expecting the official to meet every single one of their expectations is totally unrealistic and impossible.
 
ElleMD said:
There is no contract. The electorate choose someone based on any number of factors to perform a job. Every person who voted had different reasons for selecting that person and expecting the official to meet every single one of their expectations is totally unrealistic and impossible.
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I'm not talking about "Every person who voted had different reasons for selecting that person and expecting the official to meet every single one of their expectations". My question is in regard to 'Qualifications' and failure to adhere to 'Job Description'.

Let's say that for a certain position you need the flowing!
Qualifications: Must have 1, 2 & 3
Job Description: Must do A, B & C

If the Elected Official lied about having 1, 2 & 3, and failed to preform A, B & C, He or She has Breached the contract. No?
 
Redah said:
If the Elected Official lied about having 1, 2 & 3, and failed to preform A, B & C, He or She has Breached the contract. No?
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No.

Not breach of contract with the voter and the voter has no cause of action against the politician other than to vote him or her out at the next election.

It the elected official does wrong while in office there is an impeachment process available.
 
adjusterjack said:
No.

Not breach of contract with the voter and the voter has no cause of action against the politician other than to vote him or her out at the next election.

It the elected official does wrong while in office there is an impeachment process available.
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Sec. 87.013. GENERAL GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL. (a) An officer may be removed for:

(1) incompetency;

(2) official misconduct; or

(3) intoxication on or off duty caused by drinking an alcoholic beverage.


Sec. 87.015. PETITION FOR REMOVAL. (a) . (1) . (2)(b) Any resident of this state who has lived for at least six months in the county in which the petition is to be filed and who is not currently under indictment in the county may file the petition. At least one of the parties who files the petition must swear to it at or before the filing.
 
If the candidate states they have a JD and after being elected, it comes to light that they do not, it is not a contract law issue. It may or may not be grounds for removal/impeachment depending up the nature of the lie and the local laws governing that office/jurisdiction. Those are going to vary a whole lot, and are not a one size fits all situation. There is still no contract.
 
This issue is rarely discussed or investigated. I'm here to see what others think.
I just received this from an attorney at the Texas Workforce Commission:
"1. In my opinion, winning an election for an elected office in a political subdivision would create a form of employment contract between the citizens of the governmental subdivision in which the election occurred and the individual who won the election. In effect, the citizens, through their votes, would be hiring the candidate who won the election to fill the position for which the vote occurred. The citizens would be entitled to expect the official to perform the duties of the office in question, and in return, the official would be entitled to the salary provided by law for anyone who holds that office and performs it as prescribed.
2. It would be a very specialized form of contractual relationship, though. It would not be the kind of employment contract that would need to be reduced to writing, since the conditions and parameters of the relationship would be specified in the Texas Constitution, the Local Government Code as it applies to counties, and any county ordinances that may have been adopted by the county's leadership over the years. Those laws and ordinances would provide the various rights and obligations of the county and the elected official toward each other, including on-boarding (taking the oath of office), the term of employment (term of office), compensation, powers, duties, and means of ending the relationship (completion of the term of office, resignation, impeachment / recall / removal), and so on."

I'm not going to take the above opinion and just run with it. The intent is to see how others view the issue, see if I'm missing anything, and be prepared for the other side's rebuttal.
 
Not even a little bit clear. You didn't say where this is, what position, what was lied about, what affect this has had if any, or what part of the job description you feel is not being met.
 
ElleMD said:
Not even a little bit clear. You didn't say where this is, what position, what was lied about, what affect this has had if any, or what part of the job description you feel is not being met.
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I already said Thank you! Just stay of the conversation if you are unable to understand it, or challenged by it.
 
Redah said:
The intent is to see how others view the issue, see if I'm missing anything, and be prepared for the other side's rebuttal.
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What you are missing is that it is a contract between THE PEOPLE and the elected official and the INDIVIDUAL VOTER does not have an individual cause of action for which he can sue.

Your intent appears to be to foment an argument by posting off topic messages which are not within the purview of this site. That's the definition of an internet troll. This site is here for the purpose of helping people who have legal trouble. It is not here for lengthy, argumentative, philosophical discussions. There are places where you can have those discussions to your heart's content but we cannot, and will not, suffer them here.

Please move on.

And if you plan on giving any of us more lip, you will find this thread gone when next you visit.
 
adjusterjack said:
the INDIVIDUAL VOTER does not have an individual cause of action for which he can sue.
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Sec. 87.015. PETITION FOR REMOVAL. (a) . (1) . (2)(b) Any resident of this state who has lived for at least six months in the county in which the petition is to be filed and who is not currently under indictment in the county may file the petition. At least one of the parties who files the petition must swear to it at or before the filing.

You all helped me more than you'll ever know. ..... Thank you
 
You have accurately quoted that section but it does not contradict my statement that "the INDIVIDUAL VOTER does not have an individual cause of action for which he can sue" because this is not a lawsuit between the voter and the official.

If you read the entire statute you should be able to understand that:

2015 Texas Statutes :: LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE :: TITLE 3 - ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT :: SUBTITLE B - COMMISSIONERS COURT AND COUNTY OFFICERS :: CHAPTER 87 - REMOVAL OF COUNTY OFFICERS FROM OFFICE; FILLING OF VACANCIES
 
As far as an individual(s) suing for removal of an elected official (let's say for the official being drunk), it has been done may times.
My angle is a bit different than other cases. I want to sue for a 'breach of contract' because the official reneged on his promise to obey the law in regard to drinking and .
Reason: Judges are now saying that the 'No Drinking' rule would open the gates to countless law suits (%54 of Texans drink).
 
Redah said:
My angle is a bit different than other cases. I want to sue for a 'breach of contract' because the official reneged on his promise to obey the law in regard to drinking and .
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You obviously aren't going to believe anything we tell you here so go ahead and spend your time and money on suing the guy and then come back and report the results.
 
Redah said:
As far as an individual(s) suing for removal of an elected official (let's say for the official being drunk), it has been done may times.
My angle is a bit different than other cases. I want to sue for a 'breach of contract' because the official reneged on his promise to obey the law in regard to drinking and .
Reason: Judges are now saying that the 'No Drinking' rule would open the gates to countless law suits (%54 of Texans drink).
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Okay, some elected officials can't be recalled.
There are, however, other ways to have the official face the wrath of the people.

Take JPs, for example.
The qualifications for JP are minimal, which isn';t all that bad.
The idea behind JPs is they were to be the court of first resort for low level offense.
JP courts appeared in Texas' early years, and have evolved little over the decades.
However, not just anyone can cause a JP to be called on the capet.


Some elected officials can be recalled.
The recall of these local elected officials in Texas is available only in certain political subdivisions that have their own home rule charter, and only if the charter specifies and authorizes recall of local elected officials.

It is estimated that in Texas we have about 1,200 cities, and only 350 of those cities have their own home rule charter.

In our state, these "home rule cities are unique."

If a municipality yearns to become a "home rule city" or a "charter city," the population of the city must exceed 5,000 people.
The voters must hold an election to adopt a home rule charter.
In excess of 90% of home rule cities, do include a local recall provision.
The other side of that estimate reveals that 10% (give or take) don't permit recall elections.

I wrote all of that to ask in what city do you reside?
Or, do you reside in the county, as in an unincorporated locale?

We have a Justice of the Peace in bell County that has caused quite a stir across the state and nation.
She was recently elected in November.
She set a bond on a murder suspect of $4,000,000,000,
She's not an attorney, because JPs don't have to hold law degrees.
The county is abuzz, but only licensed bar members can seek her trial and eventual recall.
It only takes on attorney, working in this county to cause that, and one did.
Dozens of voters are upset, but only one attorney can begin the process to have her removed.

We also had people announce for the school board and local elections.
The election officials caught the fact he was a registered NC voter, which disqualifies his ability to run for any office in Texas.
To run for any Texas office, you must at a minimum be a registered voter in the area where you wish to run for office.
 
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