Last updated on December 14, 2021 at 10:00am, ET.
Note: This article was corrected on December 13, 2021 at 20:30 ET to update a change in the status for the candidate and to correct a mistake.
On December 14, 2021, Dorothy Byrd responded to our request for comment, we have updated the article to add her response.
As readers may remember we broke the news that Carl Robinson was facing an opponent in the March 2022 primaries. Sergio Coronado filed last Friday. There have been several rumors of candidates wishing to challenge Robinson for his seat. One of the rumors was that Dorothy Sissy Byrd wanted to run for county commissioner Precinct 4.
We can now confirm that Byrd had filed her application on December 3, 2021. However, her application was rejected earlier today and she will not be on the ballot.
According to a source that agreed to speak with us off the record, El Paso Democratic Party officials sought an opinion about Byrd’s application. Party officials were concerned that Byrd had checked off the box in the application that says she has a felony record.
Update: The Texas Secretary of State website updated the status of Dorothy Sissy Byrd from rejected to in primary after we published our article. Byrd told a supporter that she was not aware of the rejected status until she was shown our article. Shen then updated her application.
Last year, Byrd ran for the city council District 4 seat. She came in third in that contest, behind Sam Morgan and Joe Molinar. Molinar beat Morgan in the runoff election. In her candidate questionnaire she told the El Paso Times on October 12, 2020 that she was arrested over 20 years ago and accepted deferred adjudication. She added that the charges were dismissed.
However, the Texas election code prohibits felons from holding office, unless they have been pardoned. A Texas Attorney General Opinion in 2019 states that convicted felons are not eligible to run for office even if their voting rights have been restored.
We asked Byrd for a comment regarding the rejection of her application. As of press time, we have not received a reply to our message to her seeking a comment. When we receive a response from her, we will update this story.
Update: On December 14, 2021, Byrd provided the following comment: “An error was corrected and my application was accepted.”
Byrd has been active in El Paso politics for some time. She has also been active in the Sun City Lions Club.
Stay close to El Paso Politics for the latest in El Paso’s political news. Candidates have until 6:00 p.m., El Paso time to file for a place in the upcoming elections. We are working on several leads about who may file and who has not filed.
