Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Mayor Pro Tem Tony Mobly on Monday resigned his Place 5 seat on the Granbury City Council to run for mayor in a special election that has been set for Tuesday, June 29.
The special election is necessary due to last week’s resignation of Mayor Nin Hulett, who is facing a third-degree felony DWI charge. The mayor’s term does not expire until November 2022.
Mobly filed candidate paperwork immediately following a special meeting of the City Council held at noon on Monday at City Hall. The purpose of the meeting was to formally accept Hulett’s letter of resignation and schedule a special election.
Mobly has been elected mayor pro tem by his colleagues on the council every year since 2017.
The filing period for the special election officially opened at the conclusion of the meeting and will remain so until 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 20. Filing paperwork must be submitted to the city secretary’s office.
To run for mayor, the city charter requires that Mobly – or any other council member who chooses to run to replace Hulett – resign their council seat. Any vacated seats will be added to the special election ballot.
At the time this article was posted, the HCN was unaware of anyone else having filed for placement on the special election ballot. A source told the newspaper that Eddie Rodriquez of Place 2 had indicated that he might seek the mayor’s post, but Rodriquez would not confirm or deny that report when the HCN contacted him on his cell phone minutes after the council meeting.
“I don’t have a comment,” he stated.
The resignations do not mean that the city’s governing body is reduced in number. Hulett and Mobly will continue to serve in their current capacities until they are replaced through the special election. The same will be true for any other council member should they decide to resign to run for mayor in the June contest. Hulett presided over Monday’s special meeting.
If anyone else files to run for mayor and Mobly loses that race, he will be off the council.
However, since the Place 5 seat he has held since 2015 is scheduled to be on the November ballot along with the Place 3 seat held by Bruce Wadley, he could run to retake that seat. Any winner of the Place 5 seat in the special election will have to run again in November to serve a full three-year term.
Council members receive stipends for their service. The mayor receives $1,500 per month, or $18,000 per year. Council members are paid $1,000 per month for a yearly total of $12,000.
The last day to register to vote in the special election is June 1 and the last day to request a ballot by mail is June 18, Elections Administrator Michele Carew said. Only those who live within Granbury’s city limits are eligible to vote in that contest.
Early voting will take place at county Annex 1, 1410 W. Pearl St., on weekdays over a two-week period.
According to Carew, polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, June 14-18 and again from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, June 21, Wednesday, June 23 and Friday, June 25. On Tuesday and Thursday of that second week, June 22 and 24, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
On Election Day, voters will be able to cast ballots from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
SERVICE, FRIENDSHIP
Hulett submitted a letter of resignation to City Secretary Carla Walker at 1:45 p.m. Thursday (May 6), three days after a DWI arrest on April 25 was upgraded to a felony charge. He read his letter aloud at Monday’s meeting, his voice at times full of emotion.
Place 6 council member Greg Corrigan was not present at the meeting, which lasted 15 minutes. The others - Mobly, Rodriquez, Wadley and Place 4’s Trish Reiner – each commended Hulett for his service to the city.
Mobly was the first to speak in praise of Hulett, calling him “a tough act to follow.” He indicated that he is proud to count Hulett among his best friends, and said that Hulett will continue to be his friend.
“This council will continue to work on the issues before us to make Granbury even better going forward,” he pledged.
Reiner also expressed appreciation for Hulett’s friendship and for the time he has spent entertaining residents at senior living facilities. He is known for singing and playing guitar.
“Mayor, you are a strong person, and we will all be praying for you,” she said.
Rodriquez, too, pledged prayers for Hulett and his family, and Wadley noted that it had been “an honor” serving with him.
City Manager Chris Coffman, his voice breaking with emotion, quoted a Bible verse – Ecclesiastes 4:9 – about helping another when they fall.
“We bless you with all of our hearts,” he told Hulett.
