Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has weighed in on a lawsuit accusing the Harris County Republican Party of improperly declaring a candidate for the Texas legislature ineligible because he previously held a “lucrative office.”

At issue in the suit is the candidacy of Josh Flynn, a Republican who is running for House District 38 and who, until earlier this month, had been a trustee for the Harris County Department of Education.

Though trustees earn just $6 per meeting, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled that “an office is lucrative if the officeholder receives any compensation, no matter how small.”.

Flynn was previously declared ineligible for the race by county GOP Chairman Paul Simpson, who said that Flynn had submitted his resignation as a trustee to the wrong person at the county education board.

Flynn sought a temporary restraining order that was granted this week by a district court judge.

In a separate filing, Paxton stopped short of siding with Flynn, but wrote that “the law in Texas is clear that a candidate who effectively resigns from the conflicting office may be a candidate for the legislature.”

Paxton’s filing could have long-term implications for Texas’ so-called “resign to run” rules, said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University.

He noted that the same rules apply to a person who is, say, serving on the local school board and those who may hold high-level offices when they declare their candidacy. That results in instability and high turnover rates across elected office because officeholders have to resign even part-time positions to pursue another office, Jones said.

The rule “has always been seen as a little unfair, especially to those who are, by all intents and purposes, serving in voluntary positions,” Jones said.

Paxton’s brief could signal to the Texas Legislature that they should clearly define what offices require a resignation, Jones said. But it’s unclear if lawmakers would be amicable to broadening the field of potential challengers by lowering the barrier of entry to run for office, Jones said.

Flynn’s attorney, Trey Trainor, downplayed any potential ramifications of the brief, which he said took a “balanced approach” to the matter.

“This truly is a friend of the court brief,” he said.

Flynn, meanwhile, will have to wait until their next scheduled court date in January to move forward with his candidacy — though his attorney, former Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill, said he is confident that Flynn will prevail.

Still, Woodfill said he took issue with the local party’s decision to exclude Flynn — particularly at a time when the GOP is floundering in Harris County.

“Now the (county GOP) is spending more money to keep Republicans off the ballot,” Woodfill said.

robert.downen@chron.com