Early voting for the March 5 Republican primary opens Feb. 20, and a candidate for Bandera County Sheriff says he is eager to focus on the issues facing Bandera County rather than his place of residency.
Candidate Josh Teitge, registered as a voter in Bandera County, owns a home in Meadowlakes and works as Chief of Police in Florence.
Located in Burnet County, Meadowlakes is about 30 minutes north of Johnson City. Florence is located in Williamson County roughly an hour northeast of Meadowlakes.
The Bulletin received several phone calls and visits from various parties concerned about Teitge’s residency. The Bulletin reached out to Mr. Teitge for a statement, though we did not specifically name any parties who had contacted us.
Mr. Teitge presented to the Bulletin a Homestead and Disabled Veteran Exemption Removal notice from the Burnet County Central Appraisal District Office. He also said he moved his residency to Bandera County on May 10, 2023.
The Burnet County Central Appraisal District told the Bulletin that such a removal is made when an individual’s primary residence outside of the county is presented to them. However, their online system does not necessarily update until the tax year has been concluded.
Teitge says he still owns the house in Meadowlakes, but his primary residence is in Bandera on his father’s ranch, where he is building a new home.
Mr. Teitge issued the following statement to the Bulletin, which has not been edited for content, but has been broken up for layout purposes:
“With the end of the Holiday season, the campaign season is right in front of us, and every year, sadly, wild and irresponsible accusations fly from at least one candidate in our local races.
Recently, one of my opponents has made online statements regarding my residency in Bandera County.
To make it clear, I am a resident of Bandera County, and just like the individual making these baseless claims, I too hold a job outside the county. My residence, like his, is in Bandera County.
As with many families across our County, my residence is on my family’s ranch. I am contributing financially to the management of our legacy property as well as actively building a new home there. That ranch is my permanent address, as it was during several years while serving overseas in the Republic of Korea during my 23 years of service in the U.S. Army.
I am a registered Bandera County voter and my Texas Driver’s License reads 78003. I have been certified for the ballot by the Bandera County Republican Party and Texas Secretary of State.
Those facts have not deterred a candidate searching for a point of contention, however contrived.
These baseless accusations do nothing to address the real public safety issues affecting the people of Bandera County.
We have work to do and areas for immediate and lasting improvement. As a current Chief of Police and experienced law enforcement professional, I remain committed to issues of substance that concern protecting the public. I encourage every voter to compare candidates in this race.
My platform and priorities have been public for months, and no matter how many times they are routinely parroted by others, I will get to work on day one putting those priorities into action for every area of Bandera County.”
To be eligible for a sheriff in the state of Texas, a candidate must be a U.S. citizen, resident of Texas for six months, a district resident for six months, be registered to vote in the area of office sought and be at least 18 years of age.
According to Texas Local Government Code, A person must (1) have a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate; and (2) either: (A) hold an active permanent peace officer license; or (B) be eligible to be licensed under Sections 1701.309 and 1701.312 of the Texas Occupations Code and has a minimum of five years of experience as a federal special investigator or is a military veteran with a minimum of 10 years of combined active duty or national guard service experience.
