Why haven’t there been any St. Paul elections in recent memory? We have a town council, don’t we? Who elected them? According to a St. Paul public records request, the last election was on May 9, 2009. Yes, that is over 14 years ago. Even a monarchy like Saudi Arabia has elections in its municipalities more often than that.
According to comments made during a town council meeting last year, St. Paul is considered to be a Type A municipality under the Texas Municipal Code. The protocol for electing and appointing city government is outlined by the Texas Local Government Code. This means that the council can vote in appointees to fill the role of town council members who have resigned before their term his finished. Additionally, according to Election Advisory No. 2022-16, elections may be cancelled if candidates are running unopposed. According to St. Paul’s election page, it appears that an unopposed candidate is still considered to be “elected” and not “appointed” even if the election is cancelled due to lack of interest.
This might explain the reason why our local elections have been so elusive. Candidates are either getting appointed or running unopposed so the city is not required to hold an election. Oddly enough, the town always has just enough folks available to fill the slots. What are the odds of that? Wish I could go to Vegas with that kind of luck. So how are these open positions being communicated? Sure, the positions are posted on the town website. However, we all know that few people attend council meetings or visit the town website to view vacancies on a regular basis. Therefore, one might assert that positions are most likely getting filled by recommendations from employees or those that currently hold positions in the government. Both options take power away from the people that are represented. A town employee asking a person of their choosing to run unopposed for an open position is akin to a worker bee in the commercial world hiring their own boss. They will likely not pick someone who is going to make their life difficult or “rock the boat”. Similarly, a government representative asking a person of their own choosing to run unopposed also does not promote democracy as that person is going to pick someone who is like-minded and not someone who is going to vote against them on policy.
Does this mean our town council is full of folks with bad intentions? No, of course not; they are unpaid volunteers who take time to serve the town. The point simply is this; competition is good and it pushes us to become better. I mean, imagine a world without Burger King pushing McDonalds to develop the Big Mac as a response to the Whopper. That, my friends, is a world I would not want to live in. Kidding aside, in the context of town government, this means we need to have elections and get folks interested in running for offices that have alternative points of view and thus can challenge the existing narratives.
Elections are listed on St. Paul’s election page. According to the site:
Applications should be submitted at 2505 Butscher’s Block, St. Paul, TX. The last day to file for candidacy is Friday, February 16, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. (CST).
Council seats 3, 5 and Mayor are up for election and each are for a two-year term.
Between drainage and parking issues on Lakeway Drive, property use changes on Parker Road, ordinances not being enforced fairly and general road maintenance issues throughout the town, there has never been a better time to run than NOW. Citizens need their voices heard and to play an active role in the government. So, fill out an application, take a risk, go forth and run for office so you can help us all take back our democracy.
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Written with assistance from ChatGPT 3.5