Lawsuit against former Kay Granger opponent now includes Tarrant Democratic Party
A lawsuit against a former Democratic congressional candidate now includes the Tarrant County Democratic Party, the chairwoman of which, Deborah Peoples, is running for mayor of Fort Worth.
Thomas Torlincasi argues Lisa Welch, who ran against Republic Kay Granger for the 12th Congressional District, piled on extra work beyond their original agreement and failed to pay him for his services as campaign manager. Torlincasi is seeking $500,000 in a breach of contract lawsuit filed in October.
Attorneys for the party and Welch argue Torlincasi has not alleged or proven a contract existed between him and Welch, so he can’t claim a breach of contract. Citing Facebook discussion about the lawsuit from other members of the Democratic Party, Torlincasi’s attorney requested a temporary restraining order to bar further discussion. Judge Melody Wilkinson denied the request in December.
The lawsuit had named the Texas Democratic Party along with Welch. An amendment filed Wednesday removed the state party from the lawsuit and added the county Democratic Party.
It does not name Peoples directly, but does name the county party’s executive director, Marco Rosas. Peoples did not return a call Thursday morning. Rosas said in an email the party had not been served with the updated lawsuit.
Welch, a college professor from Decatur, ran against Granger, a former Fort Worth mayor, in Nov. 3 election. Granger won with nearly 64% of the vote compared to Welch’s 33%. Libertarian Trey Holcomb had just over 3%.
Peoples is one of six candidates running for mayor, including City Council members Brian Byrd and Ann Zadeh as well as Mattie Parker, a former City Council chief of staff.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 1:38 PM.
