In the midst of a heated judicial race in Central Texas, allegations of misconduct have been raised against Judge Tanner Neidhardt, who is accused of using his position as an adjunct professor at Texas State University to unduly influence students to vote and campaign for him. According to a report by The Texas Tribune, Neidhardt sent an email to his class last Monday, promising those who campaigned for him free campaign t-shirts and pizza, which is deemed a violation of state law prohibiting state employees from using the internal mail system for political advertising.
A letter from Alicia Key's attorney to Texas State President Kelly Damphousse outlines the complaint, noting that any attempt to rapidly shift student support may break state law and put students in a potentially coercive position. Neidhardt, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022, is currently seeking election to maintain his judgeship. His opponent, Key, is a former district attorney with a history in Texas's judicial system. In a statement obtained by Yahoo News, Key condemned her competitor's tactics, asserting, "I am running to serve my fellow Hays County residents with integrity, dignity, and fairness," and critiques Neidhardt for apparently chasing "his personal gain and ambition."
Key's attorney, Chevo Pastrano, has taken the step to file a criminal complaint against Judge Neidhardt with both the Texas State University Police Department and the Hays County District Attorney. The latter, District Attorney Kelly Higgins, has confirmed receipt of the complaint but declined to comment further. "When you sign up for a class, it's not on the syllabus that you're going to be propositioned to support a campaign for the guy who's got control of your grade at the end of the semester," Pastrano told The Texas Tribune.
Texas State University spokespersons refrained from commenting on this personnel issue, while Neidhardt did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Meanwhile, university officials had, just two weeks prior to Neidhardt's email, sent faculty a reminder prohibiting the use of university resources for electoral influence—a directive that Neidhardt appears to have potentially ignored. In the context of these events, Texas State junior Emma Bean expressed her discomfort with Neidhardt's solicitation, telling The Texas Tribune, "It almost felt like Mr. Neidhart had a bit of an unfair advantage since he is also a professor at the school."
The Texas Tribune, in partnership with Open Campus, continues to dig into issues of higher education, shedding light on the intersections of academia and political campaigning. Bringing to fore are the actions of those in power that may just toogle the scales of fairness and ethics in the pursuit of retaining such power.
