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Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that the New Braunfels Mayoral race will go to a runoff.
Looks like there is not a new mayor in town after all—at least for now.
What happened
Prior to the May 2 election, city officials reviewed the city charter, which states the mayoral election is decided by the candidate who receives the most votes, or a plurality of votes, regardless of whether a candidate receives a majority.
However, the city attorney’s office received notification from legal counsel that there is a conflict between the city charter and the Texas Constitution—which states that when a term of office exceeds two years, members of a municipality’s governing body must be elected by a majority vote, according to a news release. Because the New Braunfels Mayor position is three years, a runoff must be held.
With all precincts reporting, mayoral candidate Michael French received 49.18% of the vote, or 3,667 votes. Incumbent Neal Linnartz received 38.25% of the vote, or 2,852 votes, according to unofficial voting totals.
Two other candidates, Jonathon Frazier and Angela Allen were also running for the mayor seat. Frazier received 122 votes, or 1.64% of the vote and Allen received 815 votes, or 10.93% of the vote, according to unofficial results.
Since no candidate received the majority vote as required by the Texas Constitution, the two candidates who received the most votes—French and Linnartz—will head to a run-off election.
What they’re saying
New Braunfels’ City Attorney Valeria Acevedo said the situation stems from a conflict between the city charter and Texas Constitution.
“The [Texas] Constitution clearly requires a majority vote for offices with terms longer than two years. Once this conflict was fully analyzed, it became clear that proceeding to a runoff is the legally required path forward,” Acevedo said in the release.
Next steps
All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Runoff dates and voting information will be shared once they are finalized, the release states.
