Denton County Democratic and Republican party leaders are butting heads over the use of a city building as a polling site for the March 2 primary.

Democrats claim they are being unfairly excluded from using Denton Fire Station No. 4 at 2110 E. Sherman Drive, while GOP officials claim to have exclusive use of the facility.

“Yes, that is true, we have had the exclusive use of that station,” said Dianne Edmondson, Republican Party chairwoman. “We sent a contract out to the fire department officials signed the ninth of December and they returned it to us.”

Edmondson claimed Democratic officials spoke to the assistant fire chief, Mark Klingele, to see about using the fire station as well and also claimed they would speak to the Republican officials about it.

“They were less than truthful; they never called us,” Edmondson said. “We would not have agreed to it — the facility just would not have accommodated that many people.”

Edmondson pointed to precinct conventions, which are held after the primary election, with one meeting spot for each precinct. The precinct conventions can simply be in different rooms, but with both parties at the fire station, Edmondson said there would be no way to have five or six going on at the same time.

“Logistically, they just need to find someplace else, and that is what we are insisting the city tell them to do,” she said.

Edmondson quoted from Section 43.031 of the Texas Election Code: “The entity that owns or controls a public building shall make the building available for use as a polling place in any election that covers territory in which the building is located. If more than one authority requests the use of the building for the same day and simultaneous use is impracticable, the entity that owns or controls the building shall determine which authority may use the building.”

She said her party has a signed contract and the Democrats don’t.

Mary Infante, executive director for the county Democratic Party, said an exclusive contract is contrary to that same election code.

The Democrats would have been willing to have the space split in half to accommodate both parties and were told by Klingele that it would be possible, Infante said. In further contact with party officials, Klingele informed the Democrats that he indeed signed an exclusive contract with the Republicans.

Klingele would not comment and deferred questions to the city’s legal department.

City spokesman John Cabrales said Denton officials are “still investigating what has transpired and reviewing all our options. We hope to assist both parties in coming up with an acceptable solution.”

The polling place in question would be used only on primary election day, March 2, and not early voting, which begins on Feb. 16.

“We are not dragging on this,” Cabrales said.

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com .