Evangelical 'prophet' kicked off the ballot in TX after multiple felonies revealed

An evangelical preacher and licensed mental health counselor has been kicked off the ballot for a local race in Dallas, Texas, after her past felony convictions came to light.

Pedra Geter is an evangelical preacher based in Texas. She describes herself as "a Prophet, Evangelist, Mother, Entrepreneur and College Student pursuing my PHD in Human Resource Development" on her LinkedIn page, and more recent materials have referred to her as "Dr. Pedra Geter." The page also lists her professions as "evangelist," "televengelist" and "motivational speaker" dating back to 1999.

Geter had recently been running in the Dallas County commissioner Democratic primary, challenging longtime incumbent Dr. Elba Garcia. On Monday, however, a local NPR affiliate, KERA News, reported that her candidacy had been terminated after past felony convictions came to light, barring her from pursuing public office in Texas.

Geter confirmed that she had received multiple felony convictions in the past, with KERA News uncovering Dallas County court documents showing convictions for fraud, forgery and reckless conduct. At the time she filed to run for office, she had not submitted official paperwork to prove that she had been pardoned of those convictions, as would be required of her under the law. The Texas state constitution forbids anyone convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery or other high crimes from holding elected public office.

"As the filing authority, we've made our ruling," Kardal Coleman, chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party, told KERA News. "Her application was rejected."

Geter plans to appeal this decision on her candidacy, citing the fact that she served time for the convictions and was released from her sentence.

"What [the state election law] states is: To be eligible for public or elected office, a candidate must not have been finally convicted of a felony from which the individual has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities," Geter explained. "I have been released from the resulting disability."

As of now, Garcia is running unopposed for reelection as Dallas County commissioner.