The move extends the mayor’s term to four years, even though Round Rock voters only elected him to a three-year term.
Councilmembers Will Peckham and Tammy Young, elected by voters to three-year terms in 2017, will instead serve for four years.
Hilda Montgomery was the only member who voted against the postponement.
In March, Gov. Greg Abbott authorized localities to reset their elections from May 2 to November 30.
“I strongly encourage local election officials to take advantage of these waivers and postpone their elections until November,” Abbott said at the time.
However, the City of Round Rock invoked its city charter and ordinances to delay its elections to next year instead.
“Due to circumstances related to COVID-19, the City was forced to consider several options for holding our elections,” Mayor Craig Morgan said.
“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.” The city did not state their specific legal justification for extending the terms of Morgan, Peckham, and Young.
The announcement webpage provided links to Section 2-25 of Round Rock’s city ordinances, which sets the date of the annual election and the date of new councilmembers’ inaugurations.
The city’s statement also provided a link to Section 5.01 of the city’s charter, which delineates various rules for city elections.
However, neither of these sections specifically address delaying one year’s election to the next year or extending an elected official’s term.
Section 3.02 of the city charter says that officeholders shall occupy their offices for terms of three years.
UPDATE: Mayor Craig Morgan requested a legal opinion from City Attorney Steve Sheets on the city’s decision to postpone the election to May 2021. Sheets authored a letter to Morgan and the Round Rock City Council on Tuesday, which can be found below.
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Hayden Sparks
Hayden Sparks is a senior reporter for The Texan and a lifelong resident of the Lone Star State. He has coached competitive speech and debate and has been involved in politics since a young age. One of Hayden's favorite quotes is by Sam Houston: "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may."