The Glenn Heights City Council voted 4-2 on Oct. 21 to place a review of candidate eligibility and the city’s handling of candidate filings on a future council agenda after residents raised concerns about a candidate’s residency and voter-registration status.

Citizens who spoke during the public comment portion and at the agenda item said the candidate, identified in public remarks as Marcel Howard, had used multiple addresses on filings and publicly available records suggested his voter registration was effective after the statutory 30-day eligibility cutoff. “When you sign a sworn statement to seek a public office, you don't get to treat it like a draft,” Tremaine Hobbs said. “When it's wrong, it calls for accountability, not avoidance.”

Resident Denise Delora told the council she had obtained Secretary of State and county records she said showed the candidate was not registered 30 days before the filing deadline of Aug. 18, 2025. She said she provided the documents to authorities and called on the council to “acknowledge the concerns publicly” and request a full review.

City staff and the city attorney described the limits of the city secretary’s role in vetting filings. City Attorney Berman told the council that, under state law, a filing officer may verify the voter-registration box and must evaluate a filing “based solely on its face,” and that city secretaries cannot investigate residency beyond conclusive public records. He told the council that judicial or administrative remedies for contested filings (including those outlined in the Texas Election Code) are available to outside parties and that the council itself does not have authority to disqualify candidates after the statutory deadlines have passed.

Councilwoman Stephanie Hale — who asked that the matter be placed on a future agenda — said she was not seeking to prosecute staff but wanted the documentation the city relied on when it accepted filings. “Since we want to talk about receipts, that’s the receipt I would like,” Hale said, asking the city secretary to provide the voter-registration validation used at the time of filing.

The motion to add the item to the next meeting’s agenda passed on a 4-2 vote: Councilman Harry Garrett, Councilwoman Stephanie Hale, Councilman Bruton and Councilman Cornel Binford voted in favor; Councilman Lightfoot and one other voted no. The council did not take further action on candidate eligibility at the meeting; staff and legal officials said lawful avenues for challenge exist outside the council’s direct authority.

The council did not announce a specific date for the agenda item beyond placing it on a future meeting agenda; the presiding officer said it would be scheduled for a subsequent meeting for full discussion.

Copies of the public records cited by speakers — including an affidavit dated Sept. 22, 2025, and filings dated Aug. 18, 2025 — were referred to the appropriate authorities by members of the public during the meeting.