This January, in an election for a seat on a community college board, a middle aged white man won on the pretense that he was black in a largely black area of Houston. He has taken his seat, but is currently being sued by the Houston City Prosecutor for running in a district he did not live in. He should be removed from his seat for running under these false pretenses and an election should be held in the area for a successor.

Wilson, a white conservative running in a mostly black democratic neighborhood, ran a campaign that lead many voters to think he was a black politician living in the area and, according to a local news station, used tactics such as distributing flyers with only stock photos of smiling black families,and claiming he was supported by Ron Wilson, a former black state representative from the area. Later he claimed that he was referring to his cousin, also named Ron.

Currently, Wilson is being sued by Houston Prosecutors for not living in the area he ran in for the seat. Wilson apparently claimed that he lives in a loft above his business in the area, but the attorneys office is claiming that this was a lie in order to run in the area. According to Robert Soard, an assistant to the Harris County attorney, “He claims to live in a warehouse,…to not live with his wife, and there’s other evidence that will come out.”

Wilson has filed paperwork appealing the case and has assumed office on the board of Houston Community College. It can be argued that he should keep his place on the board, as there is no law against what he said in his campaign. Also, he was elected by the citizens of the area in a democratic process. This is not taking into account, however, the fact that he may not even live in the district, and purposefully mislead voters in the election.

In response to this election, steps should be taken to remove Wilson from office, and prevent campaigns such as this happening in the future at a local level. If the case by the district attorney does not remove Wilson, either the board of the college should remove him, or a recall should take place, as he ran a deliberate campaign of misinformation. Voters should take it upon themselves to be more informed at all levels of election, in order to prevent something like this happening in the future. While this case is bizarre and unique, campaigns that blatantly lie should not be tolerated by voters across America.