Lawsuit seeks to remove Hays County district clerk Avrey Anderson for alleged incompetence

Austin American-Statesman
Serena Lin - Austin American-Statesman
October 4, 2023

After seeking to remove his county’s district attorney, the Hays County district clerk faces the prospect of his own removal from office. 

On Friday, Austin lawyer Chloe Love filed a petition to remove Avrey Anderson from his position as district clerk. The lawsuit claims Anderson, who was elected at age 19, repeatedly failed to deliver notices of jury summons, subpoenas and temporary protective orders. 

In the petition, lawyers for Love said that this delayed the judicial process and potentially endangered people who were the subjects of protective orders. 

This suit comes less than a week after Anderson requested to withdraw his own lawsuit against Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins. Anderson had accused Higgins of official misconduct. 

Love’s petition echoes claims that Higgins made in his response to Anderson’s lawsuit. Higgins had described instances in which he believed that Anderson failed to fulfill the role of district clerk. 

In that response, Higgins alleged that Anderson had filed suit against him as a "preemptive strike" against any effort to remove the clerk from office for incompetence.

In a previous interview with the American-Statesman, Higgins had indicated that he would step aside if a suit — such as Love’s — was brought against Anderson. 

Asked by the Statesman for comment, lawyers representing Love provided the following statement: 

“Mr. Anderson is a public servant and swore an oath to faithfully execute the duties of his office and protect and defend the Constitutions and laws of the United States and Texas. He has failed to live up to that oath, whether through incompetency or malfeasance. This suit was filed because the people of Hays County deserve a working government, and the oath of office still matters.”

Anderson declined to comment.