MANSFIELD, Texas — Mansfield ISD has declared Place 2 school board candidate Dr. Angel Hidalgo ineligible in the May 4 election. However, Hidalgo, a professor at Tarrant County College, will remain on the ballot in the upcoming election.
Hidalgo has faced a series of questions regarding his eligibility to run for the seat throughout the election.
Mansfield ISD parents Allan and Ebony Turner, say their questions about Hidalgo’s eligibility began brewing when they first met him.
“Everyone was saying that this was an issue,” Allan said. “You don’t have children in the district, you’ve never served in the district… why would you really wanna be on our board? What is your agenda?”
The Turners and other parents said they took their concerns to the district in early March but felt their questions were largely ignored.
“It was a simple decision that could've been made in February,” Ebony said.
On Thursday, Mansfield ISD school board President Courtney Lackey Wilson said Hidalgo’s ineligibility is due to him not being a registered voter of Mansfield ISD by the filing deadline of February 16th.
According to the Texas election code, candidates are required to live in the territory they are running to represent for at least six months before the filing deadline to apply to be on the ballot and be registered to vote in that territory before the filing deadline.
Lackey Wilson said Hidalgo will stay on the ballot because “the statutory deadline to remove an ineligible candidate from the ballot was February 24, 2024, and had already passed when the first ineligibility complaint was received on March 3, 2024.”
However, WFAA obtained emails, which show a Tarrant County elections administration worker asked the district if it had decided whether or not it would keep Hidalgo on the ballot weeks after the deadline.
Since Hidalgo is still on the ballot, he could still be declared the winner. According to Lackey Wilson, if Hidalgo wins, the board gets to declare a vacancy in that position until the next trustee election or order a special election.
WFAA reached out to Lackey Wilson for an interview, but she did not respond.
“It’s very frustrating for us,” Allen said. “It just reeks of us not really being able to trust you. I think it’s hurtful for the community to know that we trusted this board for the longest, and then to see that a lot of things have come to light. It ended up feeling like a major cover-up.”
Despite being deemed ineligible Hidalgo still showed up to a candidate forum in Mansfield Thursday evening. When pressed by WFAA for his response to being ineligible, Hidalgo did not respond.
WFAA asked Hidalgo what his message was to voters who felt he was wrong for running in an election he was not eligible for.
He responded: “I have been teaching in the United States for more than 20 years, and I have experience.”
WFAA asked Hidalgo what made him decide to run, he repeated a “no comment” statement before rushing into the forum building, which did not allow photo or video recordings.
His opponent, UTA Associate Professor Jandel Crutchfield told WFAA she’s disappointed that someone ineligible could still win on May 4. She wants voters to be aware ahead of casting their ballot.
“I would hope that somehow the message of his ineligibility would get out,” Crutchfield said. “I hope voters will be able to make that decision.”