AG Paxton Rebukes Round Rock Officials for Decreeing Themselves an Extra Year in Power

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Texas Scorecard by Jacob Asmussen July 31, 2020

AG Paxton Rebukes Round Rock Officials for Decreeing Themselves an Extra Year in Power

The mayor and councilmembers facing an election this year tried to shield themselves from voters until 2021. The Texas attorney general said absolutely not.

After local officials tried to postpone an election and give themselves an extra year in power, the Texas attorney general is stepping in with a stern warning.

In the Austin suburb of Round Rock, the city council recently voted almost unanimously to postpone its local election by an entire year. Mayor Craig Morgan and two councilmembers—Tammy Young and Will Peckham—were facing re-election this May, but all three voted to put off the election until May 2021.

Back in April, the council delayed the election until November after Gov. Greg Abbott allowed them to because of coronavirus fears. After voting to delay, Mayor Morgan then joined other cities in sending Abbott a letter requesting to host the election sooner than November, saying it would benefit citizens to elect a new council before fall when they will decide on next year’s tax rate and budget.

However, Morgan said that because he didn’t receive a written response from the governor, he and the council then decided to just postpone the now-November election until May 2021, shielding themselves from voters for an entire extra year.

Morgan said he was concerned their names would “get lost” on a November ballot, suggesting voters would somehow be impaired in selecting candidates in the city contests just because federal and state races would appear on the ballot first.

Now, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sent a letter to Morgan and the city council, telling them it is unlawful for them to postpone the election in the way that they did, “effectively allowing its elected officials whose terms would have expired in May 2020 to continue to hold office for another full year.”

More: https://texasscorecard.com/local/ag-paxton-rebukes-round-rock-officials-for-decreeing-themselves-an-extra-year-in-power/