GRANBURY, Texas — Kolton Krottinger has entered the legal fight over Granbury’s recall petitions, filing to oppose three city officials’ effort to prevent recall elections concerning their offices.

The court’s party listing now identifies Krottinger as an intervenor representing himself in Case No. C2026539 in Hood County’s 355th Judicial District Court.

Mayor Jim Jarratt, Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Wadley and Councilmember Gary “Skip” Overdier sued the City of Granbury, alleging fraud, forgery and other defects in the recall petitions. Their lawsuit seeks to invalidate the petitions and prevent the resulting elections. Those accusations are allegations, not findings established by the lawsuit itself.

Krottinger’s filing challenges the effort to throw out signatures and stop the recall process.

He asks the court to require proof of the alleged misconduct, identify which signatures it affected and determine whether the law actually authorizes the sweeping disqualifications the officials seek.

“A defect in one entry does not, without an applicable legal basis, establish that otherwise valid entries must also be rejected,” his petition states.

The filing also points to a significant acknowledgment in the officials’ own lawsuit: the city secretary certified the petitions, and absent court intervention, the city has a duty to call and conduct the recall elections.

Krottinger argues that filing a lawsuit does not, by itself, create an injunction or suspend that duty.

His petition includes a declaration describing what he personally observed during signature collection at the county annex. He says volunteers checked identification and voter information, and turned away people who said they lived outside Granbury’s city limits.

He limits that account to what he witnessed and does not claim to have verified every signature.

Krottinger also acknowledges that he lives outside city limits and neither signed the petitions nor collected signatures. He bases his asserted interest on advocating for this particular recall effort and observing portions of the collection process.

He seeks no damages or attorney’s fees. His request is for independent participation, an opportunity to present evidence and arguments, and denial of efforts to block the recall petitions wherever those efforts lack support in law and evidence.

The intervention is not a ruling in his favor. Texas Rule 60 permits intervention by filing a pleading, but another party may ask the court to strike it for sufficient cause.

Krottinger has now put his position before the court: the certified recall petitions should not be stopped without the legal grounds and evidence to justify it.

Disclosure: Krottinger is a founder and co-owner of the Hood County Express. He filed the intervention in his individual capacity.