21 March 9-15, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER | CONTENTS | UNFAIR PARK | SCHUTZE | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | MOVIES | DISH | MUSIC | CLASSIFIED | A Race to the Bottom ‘Godfather of Heavy Metal’ faces charges after running for mayor as a convicted sex offender. BY CHRISTIAN MCPHATE T he self-proclaimed Godfather of Heavy Metal didn’t run for Arlington mayor in early 2021 “to become a poster boy” for fighting a ruling that convicted felons couldn’t run for office after they fin- ished their sentences, he said. A convicted sex offender, Jerry Warden had already spent 15 years in prison for a con- viction the 1990s for aggravated kidnapping with intent to violate or abuse the victim sexu- ally, according to the Texas Public Sex Of- fender Registry. The victim was 24 at the time. Warden had spent the past 13 years since his release from prison trying to rebuild his heavy metal brand with talent agency Elmo Jones Productions by pro- moting bands at local venues around Tarrant County. He even tried to establish a Heavy Metal Museum in Arlington after he trademarked the name in 2014. At 62, Warden said he didn’t want “to start a bunch of shit” when he put his name on the ballot in early February 2021 but was “naive and stupid enough” to run for mayor in Arlington “be- cause I love the city.” But ignorance of the law is no defense in court, as Warden said his attorney told him. So, now Warden is facing a Class A misde- meanor charge and possibly a fine of up to $4,000 and a year in jail, in part, for defying Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s 2019 opinion, which stated that convicted felons could not seek public office even if they have a right to vote. “Subsection 141.001(a)(4) of the Elec- tion Code provides that to be eligible as a candidate for public office a person must ‘have not been finally convicted of a felony from which the person has not been par- doned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities,’” Paxton wrote on May 22, 2019. An opinion is “a written inter- pretation of existing law,” ac- cording to the attorney general’s website, and “opinions cannot create new provisions in the law or correct unintended, undesir- able effects of the law.” Paxton himself has been facing felony charges on securities fraud for nearly eight years now. He “stands accused of convincing people to invest in a company without disclosing that he would benefit from the deals,” The Dallas Morning News reported in an Aug. 5, 2022, story. In Warden’s case, neither a pardon nor a commutation has happened. As the Observer pointed out in a March 23, 2021, report, the Texas Department of Public Safety still lists Warden as a lifetime registrant on the sex of- fender registry website. It’s a fact that led his opponent, current Arlington Mayor Jim Ross, to threaten to sue him in early 2021. “As soon as they [threatened to] sue me and showed me that Paxton ruling, I never participated in any events but, in the end, couldn’t take my name off the ballot even though I was ruled ineligible to run,” War- den said. Warden finished in last place with 1.32% of the vote. About 330 people voted for him. “I got slapped in the face, man,” Warden said. The Tarrant County district attorney of- fered him a plea deal of 40 days of commu- nity service after Warden was arrested on Nov. 14 in Quanah, Texas, on a warrant ac- cusing him of fraud or tampering with a gov- ernment document. He posted a $1,500 bond the next morning. Warden said he was on his way to Colo- rado when he was arrested. “I like Colorado a lot, man. It’s a groovy state,” Warden said. “I’ve been an avid pot smoker all my life. It’s a hell of a freedom there.” Anna Hensley Williams, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, said that it doesn’t comment on pending litigation. And, unlike Paxton, Warden is deter- mined to fight his fraud charge because he doesn’t want to quit smoking weed to do community service since he uses it for me- dicinal purposes. He said he is also disabled and unable to perform physical labor. Warden may have been charged with fraud partly because of what Arlington City Secretary Alex Busken told the News in a March 4, 2021, story. Busken pointed out that Warden had signed a sworn statement that read, “I have not been finally convicted of a felony for which I have not been par- doned or had my full rights of citizenship restored by other official action.” A trial date hasn’t been set as of writing. “My attorney told me I was crazy to go to trial and fight this case when they are offer- ing me 40 days community service [be- cause] I could get up to a year in the county jail,” Warden says. “He thinks it is a slam dunk case. Me, I tell him [if] I can reach one or two of those jurors … If I can’t reach them for an acquittal, I hate to think that a jury would give me the max [sentence]. “I’ve been home for 13 years and 3 months without getting into any trouble. ... Does it really help citizens to put me in jail? I will cost them in health care.” “MY ATTORNEY TOLD ME I WAS CRAZY TO GO TO TRIAL.” - JERRY WARDEN, EX-MAYORAL CANDIDATE Self-proclaimed “Godfather of Metal” Jerry Warden ran for mayor in Arlington. His opponent, Jim Ross, said a sex- offender felony disqualified him. Now Warden faces charges for trying to run. Karen Gavis | B-SIDES | t Music puffnstuffsmokeshop.com Current Store HourS: MON-THUR 10aM - 10pM •FRI & SaT 10aM - 11pM • SUN 12pM - 10pM The Best Selection & Prices of Smoking Accessories and more in DFW! We Carry CBD! 2714 Elm St • 972-803-5151 armouryde.com MONDAY – FRIDAY 5PM–2AM SATURDAY & SUNDAY 11AM–2:00AM Cocktails • Beer Traditional Hungarian Fare
