Only qualified voters under the laws of Texas, twenty-one (21) years of age and over, who have continuously resided in the Council District for which he or she seeks election for 180 days before the first allowed filing date for the election, shall be eligible to the office of councilperson. The first allowed filing date shall not be included in calculating the 180 days.
(Ord. 16797, § 1(VII), 1-24-2006, approved 5-13-2006; Ord. 22081-02-2016, § 2(VI), 2-2-2016, approved 5-7-2016)
Primary elections to determine the selection of nominees for members of the City Council shall not be resorted to. There shall be but one (1) election, and that a general election, for the purpose of selecting members of the City Council, the same to be held biennially, on the first available election date in May specified in the Texas Election Code of odd-numbered years.
Any qualified person who desires to become a candidate for election to the City Council shall file with the city secretary a sworn application for his or her name to appear on the ballot, in accordance with the laws of Texas for nonpartisan or independent candidates, and must accompany the application with a filing fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) or, in lieu of the payment of a filing fee, any qualified person who desires to become a candidate for mayor may become a candidate by petition signed by qualified voters equaling at least one-half of one (0.5) percent of the total vote received by all candidates for mayor in the most recent mayoral general election, or by twenty-five (25) qualified voters, whichever is the greater number. In lieu of the payment of a filing fee, any qualified person who desires to become a candidate for election to the City Council, other than the office of mayor, may become a candidate by petition signed by a number of qualified voters of the district from which the candidate seeks election equal to at least one-half of one (0.5) percent of the total vote received by all candidates for mayor in that district in the most recent mayoral general election, or by twenty-five (25) qualified voters of the district, whichever is the greater number. The signed petition shall be filed with the city secretary, together with the candidate’s sworn application. Each signer next to his signature shall indicate voter registration number, date of signing, the signer’s printed name, and the street address of his place of residence. Such petitions shall also meet all requirements established by the laws of Texas for petitions which are filed with a candidate’s application for a place on the ballot in an election of a home-rule city.
The city secretary shall make up the official ballot from the names presented to him. The order in which the names of such candidates are to appear on the ballot shall be determined by a drawing to be held in the office of the city secretary. The city secretary shall post a notice in his office, at least three (3) days prior to the date on which the drawing is to be held, of the time and place of the drawing, and shall also give personal notice to any candidate who makes written request for such notice; and each candidate involved in the drawing, or a representative designated by him, shall have a right to be present and observe the drawing.
The candidates receiving the majority of the votes cast for each place shall be declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority, or if there is a tie for any one (1) place, the mayor shall order a second election to be held on a date in compliance with the Texas Election Code to fill that place. Only the names of the candidates who tie for the highest number of votes cast for that place, or the two (2) candidates who receive the highest number of votes with neither having a majority of the votes cast for that place, shall be printed on the ballot for such election. In the event of a tie vote at the second election, the candidates who tie shall cast lots in the presence of the city secretary to determine which one shall be declared elected, and said lots shall be cast within five (5) days of the second election.
(Ord. 10272, § (III), (IV), 3-16-1989, approved 5-6-1999; Ord. 16797, § 1(IV), 1-24-2006, approved 5-13-2006)
With the exception of Place No. 1 to be held by the mayor as provided for in section 2 of Chapter III of this Charter, the City Council shall provide by ordinance for ten (10) single member districts so that with the exception of the mayor, one (1) member of the City Council shall be elected from each of such defined districts by the voters residing therein, and each candidate therefrom shall be a qualified elector of the city and shall have continuously resided in the Council District for which he or she seeks election for 180 days before the first allowed filing date for the election. The first allowed filing date shall not be included in calculating the 180 days.
The City Council shall, as often as census data is available, determine as nearly as practicable the population of the respective districts and shall, by ordinance, revise the boundaries of any or all of said districts to maintain a substantial equality of population in each, provided, however, that such boundaries need not be described by reference to metes and bounds. Within sixty (60) days after passage of this amendment, the City Council shall, by ordinance, designate the original district limits.
(Ord. 16797, § 1(VIII), 1-24-2006, approved 5-13-2006; Ord. 22081-02-2016, § 2(II), (VI), 2-2-2016, approved 5-7-2016; Ord. 25328-02- 2022, § 2, 2-8-2022, approved 5-7-2022)
Editor’s Note:
Proposition 2 of Ord. 22081-02-2016, adopted 5-7- 2016 increased the number of Councilmembers from nine (9) to eleven (11). This increase will not go into effect until after the 2020 census.
During his term of office a Councilmember must continue to reside within the limits of the district from which he was elected. Any Councilmember who shall establish residence outside the district from which he was elected shall be automatically considered to have resigned and the vacancy left by such resignation shall be filled as provided by law.