A. 
All members of the City Council, other than the Mayor, shall be elected at-large under a place system.
B. 
The Mayor and each member of the City Council shall hold office for a three (3) year term. Upon expiration of the terms of the current Mayor and Councilmembers, their successors shall be elected as follows:
•
The offices of Mayor, Place 1 and Place 3 shall serve a three-year term commencing in May, 2010, and three-year terms thereafter;
•
The offices of Place 4 and Place 6 shall serve a three-year term commencing in May, 2009, and three-year terms thereafter;
•
The office of Place 2 shall serve a two-year term commencing in 2009, ending in 2011, and three-year terms thereafter; and
•
The office of Place 5 shall serve two-year terms commencing in 2010 and 2012, and three-year terms thereafter.
No person shall serve as Mayor or Councilmember for more than four (4) consecutive elected terms. For purposes of this section and computing the limitations on terms:
1. 
Any Mayor or Councilmember who vacates, for any reason, his or her position before the end of the term for which he or she was elected, shall be considered to have completed that term; and
2. 
An appointment or election to fill any unexpired term shall be computed as follows:
(a) 
if fifty percent (50%) or more of the term is remaining, it shall be included in the computation of term limits; or
(b) 
if less than fifty percent (50%) of the term is remaining, it shall not be included in the computation of term limits.
3. 
The date a vacancy occurs is determined in accordance with Chapter 201 of the Texas Election Code, as amended.
4. 
Any member of the City Council who has served four (4) consecutive elected terms shall not be eligible to run for or be appointed to a position on the City Council until the next general election subsequent to the expiration of his or her final term on the City Council.
C. 
All members of the City Council, including the Mayor, holding office at the time of passage of this Charter shall continue to hold their respective place and office until their respective term of office for which they were elected expires.
(Ordinance 861-2023 adopted 5/11/2023)
The regular election for City Council members and Mayor, whose terms are expiring, shall be in accordance with State Law. Qualified voters shall be entitled to vote for one candidate for each place. The City Council shall give notice of the election in accordance with the provisions of State Law.
A. 
No salaried officer or employee of the City may campaign for or against any issue; influence the nomination, election, or defeat of any candidate for Mayor or Councilmember; or campaign for or against the recall of the Mayor or Councilmember. This provision shall not prohibit the ordinary exercise of the right to express opinions and to vote.
B. 
No candidate for municipal office may solicit the support, the endorsement, or the financial contributions of any City employee.
A. 
Each member of the City Council, including the Mayor, shall be a qualified voter of the City, shall have resided in the City for one (1) year before the date of election, and be at least 21 years of age on the date of the election. In addition, any person who is convicted of a felony shall not be qualified to hold office on the City Council. If any member of the City Council, including the Mayor, becomes a candidate for any public office other than the one then held, that member’s current office shall be deemed vacant, in accordance with State Law.
B. 
The City Council shall be judge of the election and qualification, under the City Charter and State Law, of its own members and other elected officials of the City.
Any qualifying person may have their name placed on the official ballot as a candidate for the office of Councilmember by filing an application as required by the State of Texas.
The name of all candidates for office, except such as may have died, withdrawn, or become ineligible, shall be printed on the official ballot, as required by State Law, without party designation in the order determined in a drawing of lots conducted by the City Secretary.
Every officer of the City shall, before entering upon the duties of his or her office, take and subscribe to the oath or oaths required by State Law.
The candidate receiving a majority of the votes cast for each place shall be declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority of all votes cast for an office, the City Council shall, upon declaring the official results of the election, immediately order a runoff election for each office remaining to be filled. In the runoff election, the ballot shall list, as determined by lot, the names of the two (2) candidates receiving, at the first election, the first and second highest number of votes for a given office.
A. 
If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tem shall perform the duties of the Mayor until such time as a new Mayor is selected.
B. 
A vacancy on the City Council for an office with a three-year term must be filled by special election in accordance with the requirements of the Texas Constitution; however, in the event a vacancy occurs on the City Council for an unexpired term of twelve (12) months or less, the City Council may call a special election to fill the vacancy, or by majority vote of the City Council, appoint a replacement to fill the vacancy.
(Ordinance 861-2023 adopted 5/11/2023)