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:
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The offices of Mayor, Place 1 and Place 3 shall serve a three-year
term commencing in May, 2010, and three-year terms thereafter;
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The offices of Place 4 and Place 6 shall serve a three-year
term commencing in May, 2009, and three-year terms thereafter;
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The office of Place 2 shall serve a two-year term commencing
in 2009, ending in 2011, and three-year terms thereafter; and
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The office of Place 5 shall serve two-year terms commencing
in 2010 and 2012, and three-year terms thereafter.
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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:
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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:
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.
All elections shall be held in accordance with the laws of the
State of Texas and this Charter.
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)
