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District 14 hopeful Paula Hand out of race over bounced checkOct 01, 2011 (The Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The ballot to select a replacement for State Rep. Fred Brown became slightly less crowded Friday after the Texas Secretary of State's Office removed Republican Paula Hand. A department spokesman said Hand's $750 check to pay the filing fee was returned for insufficient funds this week. That fee is one of two ways a candidate can get her name on the ballot in a race for the Texas House. The other is by filing a petition with a signature of 500 eligible voters. But the filing period has already ended, meaning Hand can no longer submit such a petition. In fact, there is now no formal process for her to get her name on the ballot. She could, however, seek a court order or continue to run as a write-in candidate. The Republican office manager from College Station couldn't be reached Friday. Calls to her cell phone led directly to a recording indicating that her phone was not set up to receive messages. She was seeking the District 14 seat vacated by Brown when he retired to take a job that required him to move from Bryan to the Temple area. Without Hand, there would be five candidates on the ballot. Three of them are Republicans: Medical supply business owner Bob Yancy, bookstore owner John Raney and chair manufacturing company owner Rebecca Boenigk. Retired teacher Judy Webb LeUnes is running as a Democrat and retail manager Joshua Baker is running as a Libertarian. John Raney is the only candidate to file by petition. The rest submitted $750 fees. The winner of the race would only hold the seat for a year in which the Texas Legislature isn't in session. The candidate would need to file for re-election less than two months after the Nov. 8 election day and could face a primary in March. If no candidate wins a majority of the votes in November, a runoff among the top two candidates will be scheduled. That may mean the winner may not be decided until after filing begins for the next race. ___ (c)2011 The Eagle (Bryan, Texas) Visit The Eagle (Bryan, Texas) at www.theeagle.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |