At a Jan. 14 council meeting, Humble city officials and fellow council members thanked Steagall for his many years serving the community.
Mayor Merle Aaron said that when he joined City Council in 2005, Steagall was already on council. Aaron said Steagall has been a great friend and council member.
"He's someone who has given many years to the city of Humble," Aaron said. "This person is just an exemplary person that you just can't say enough good things about. So Allan, I think we're going to retire you tonight."
Steagall, an Humble native, said he originally decided to join City Council after he retired from the cement industry and moved back to Humble with his wife, Juanita, who also grew up in the Humble area. Steagall said he never intended to stay on council for as long as he has.
"I was looking for something to do in my spare time, and I had no idea, anything, about politics," he said. "I had some good friends on the council and the mayor, at that time. I had gone to high school with them, so I just thought I'd just do a one-shot deal and try it out and see what happened."
Of his 18 consecutive years on council, during which he never ran against an opponent, Steagall said he is proud of his part in opening the Humble Civic Center and thankful to have formed relationships with the city's employees. Steagall said he plans to stay involved in the community and to spend time with his grandchildren.
"I just can't say enough about the citizens; I appreciate them so much for allowing me to stay on the council so long," he said. "I must have been doing something right."
Steagall chose not to run for re-election last year prior to what was supposed to be the May 2020 election. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the election was postponed until November, at which point candidates Paula Settle and Arliss Bentley were the front-runners against candidate Bruce Davidson.
Settle and Bentley went head to head in the Dec. 12 runoff election. Settle ultimately secured the seat by one vote—301 votes compared to Bentley's 300—following a recount.
"That was a different race than I've ever seen, and it was very close," Aaron said. "Both of the participants that were in the runoff were quality people."
After being officially sworn into office at the Jan. 14 meeting, Settle took her seat for her first meeting of her term, which ends May 2022. Settle said she is excited to get her "feet wet," work with the council members and learn more about the position. Settle is general manager at Humble Machine Works and has lived in the city since 1967.
"I want to represent the people and do what I feel is best for Humble," she said. "Right now, it's just taking one day at a time to see exactly how I can go about helping Humble in their growth."
Correction: This article was corrected to say Paula Settle's term expires in May 2022 rather than two years. The election for her position was originally set for May 2020 before being postponed, so the term for that position expires in May 2022.
