PASADENA, Texas — At a June 30 special meeting, the Pasadena City Council cast lots to break a tie in the District B runoff and declared candidate Bianca Valerio the winner after she won a coin toss, officials said.

The action followed an automatic recount that did not resolve the tie. The council suspended its rules to permit the agreed-upon casting of lots under Texas Election Code section 2.028. The city secretary read the agreed procedures, Valerio called the toss, and the coin landed in her favor. Mayor Pro Tem then announced, "The winner, Bianca." The council subsequently amended and adopted a resolution that inserts the winner's name and declares the candidate qualified.

Why it matters: The council's procedure resolved the electoral tie for District B after the recount did not produce a victor, allowing the council to certify and declare a winner without further litigation or delay.

The council voted to suspend the rules so the casting of lots could proceed; the motion was seconded by Council member Emmanuel Guerrero and passed. The city secretary outlined the procedure the candidates had agreed to: the mayor would select a quarter randomly from a roll of quarters, the quarter would be tossed in a spinning motion, the candidate who called the correct side would be declared the winner. Both candidates, Bianca Valerio and Bruce Lehman, came forward for the toss. Valerio called "heads" and won the flip.

After the toss, Council member Pat Van Hout moved to amend resolution 2025-113 to insert the name of the coin-toss winner into section 4 so the winner could be declared qualified; Council member Schoenbein seconded the amendment and the council approved it. A separate motion to adopt the amended resolution was made and seconded (motion text and mover/second recorded in the minutes) and the council voted to pass the resolution as amended, concluding the certification process.

The city secretary noted the recount process and the governing law that provides for casting lots when a recount does not resolve a tie, saying, "This is a reminder that every vote counts." The meeting record shows the runoff election occurred June 7, 2025; the transcript states both candidates received equal votes in that runoff and that an automatic recount was conducted on June 18, 2025 and failed to resolve the tie, prompting the casting of lots under the Texas Election Code.

No members of the public were signed up to comment at the meeting. After the council declared the winner and adopted the amended resolution, members characterized the moment as historic for the city. The meeting included routine opening items — invocation and pledges — before the council moved to the resolution and casting of lots.