The ballot for Round Rock City Council's May 2021 election includes three seats for the mayor, Place 1 and Place 4, along with seven amendments proposed for Round Rock's city charter. Mayor Craig Morgan, Place 1 Council Member Tammy Young and Place 4 Council Member Will Peckham will serve in their positions until the May 1 election, according to a July 10 city news release.
Elected candidates will then serve the remaining two years of the three-year term, formally scheduled from May 2020-May 2023. Council's Place 3 and Place 5 seats will also remain on the May 1 ballot, as planned.
“Due to circumstances related to COVID-19, the City was forced to consider several options for holding our elections,” Morgan said in the release. “The motion presented and voted upon at last night’s Council meeting moved the election to the uniform date that occurs in May by City Charter and ordinance.”
For more information, click here.
ORIGINAL STORY
Round Rock City Council formally voted July 9 to postpone its rescheduled May 2020 election to May 1, 2021. The election, initially scheduled for May 2, was officially postponed by council April 9 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Council voted 6-1 in favor of the motion July 9, with Council Member Hilda Montgomery the sole dissenting vote.
At council's April 9 meeting, Mayor Craig Morgan said he struggled with the postponement due to the size of the November election. Morgan said he feared city candidates would "get lost" at the base of a November election ballot filled with presidential and state races.
“I struggle with this,” Morgan said April 9. “I think voting is clearly the most important thing we can do. I have major concerns that a May election is being moved to November. We get put down on the bottom of the ballot and get lost.”
The cities of Round Rock and Cedar Park joined 10 other municipalities in April seeking alternative dates for their rescheduled May elections. Morgan sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott on April 24 requesting a date prior to Nov. 3 for the city's election.
Seats up for election in May included the mayor's, along with Places 1 and 4. Place 1 Council Member Tammy Young is not running for re-election, while Place 4 Council Member Will Peckham is running as an incumbent. City staff confirmed in a July 9 email that the candidate filing period will not reopen following the election's postponement to May 1.
For more information on candidates running for Round Rock City Council, click here.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with further context following the issuance of a July 10 city news release.
