Scudder Resigns From Appraisal Board Over Dem Chair Eligibility

Kendall Scudder, the vice chair of the Texas Democratic Party’s finance committee and a top candidate in its party chair election, announced on Monday that he will resign from his seat on a county tax board after the party determined that he is ineligible to serve on the board and run for party chair at the same time.

Last year, Scudder won election to the Dallas Central Appraisal District Board, a nine-member property appraisal council. He currently serves as its vice chair.

But in December, four days before Scudder announced his candidacy, the party adopted new rules that stipulate that “the holders of elective office of the federal, state or county government are not eligible to be a candidate for State Chair.”

Those rules mimic changes to state election law that Republicans codified in 2021. That year, then-Republican Party Chair Allen West was attracting ire from some party members over his decision to run for governor without stepping down from his party role. Though he eventually resigned as party chair, lawmakers changed election code to require that, “to be eligible to be a candidate for or to serve as an officer of a political party, a person must … not be a candidate for nomination or election to, or be the holder of, an elective office of the federal, state, or county government.”

A member of the state party’s executive committee, Susan Criss, brought the issue to Scudder’s attention, but he insisted that his seat on the appraisal board did not violate election law. Concerned about possible litigation against the party, Criss, a former judge, last month formally asked the party’s legal team to review its rules and state law to decide whether Scudder’s candidacy violates state law, according to her letter.

After reviewing legal arguments from Criss and Scudder, the party’s legal team ruled that Scudder is indeed violating election law by running for party chair while holding that office, while also concluding that any legal issues would be remedied with his resignation from the board.

Scudder’s resignation from the appraisal board will be effective on Thursday at noon.

In a belligerent email on Monday, Scudder strongly disagreed with party counsel’s legal opinion that local appraisal districts are county elected offices, “a position that I still contend is factually incorrect and a shockingly poor analysis of state law.”

Scudder wrote that the challenge to his candidacy is “nothing more than a divisive attempt to manipulate the outcomes and conversations revolving around this election. It is my personal belief that the intention has been to create confusion and sow doubt, and in that regard it has been unfortunately successful.”

“This decision is not one that I take lightly, but is a sacrifice that I am willing to make because it is important to me that each of you understand my commitment to our party and my resolve to ensure that you have the utmost confidence in my leadership and dedication to serving you moving forward,” he added later in the email.

The party’s executive committee will elect an interim chair on Saturday. Other top candidates include Lillie Schechter and Patsy Woods Martin.

This is a developing story. It will be updated with more information.