Plata and Vela to stay on Mission City Council

Council members Ruben Plata and Alberto Vela will be remaining on the city council for Mission.

The 2020 election for the city, which would have involved Place 2 and Place 4 on the council, was cancelled in early August following the passing of candidate John A. Lopez. Lopez was originally slated to run against Plata for Place 2, while Vela was running unopposed.

The elections were originally set for May of this year, but were postponed to November when the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States and Hidalgo County. Lopez passed away at the end of July, and the city council held a special called meeting on August 6 to discuss the status of the elections.

When the election was postponed, the May filing deadline was maintained. Because no new candidates could file applications to run, and the election would have cost an estimated $74,000, the council moved to cancel the elections.

In order to ensure legality, the city attorney and city secretary checked in with the Texas Secretary of State’s office, as well as cited the suspension of part of the election code by Governor Greg Abbott due to the pandemic.

Council passed ordinance #4928 during the meeting, declaring the unopposed candidates as certified victories and cancelling the election. Vela and Plata will continue on the city council moving forward, and will be issued their certificates of election after the Nov. 3 election date.