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Resident warns recall election could be void under city charter
Summary
A resident told the Freeport City Council the charter requires a recall election 25–35 days after a petition is presented and warned that, because the council received the petition July 6, the deadline to fix the election date is next Monday unless action is taken; council members debated whether state code or the charter applied.
Sam Delena, a Freeport resident, told the City Council during public comment that Article 6, Section 6.07 of the city charter and Chapter 41 of the Texas Election Code set a firm timeframe for recall elections.
"If recall election is not held by next Monday, the recall election is void, has no legal effect," Delena said, urging the council to follow the charter after the petition was received July 6. He told the council that charter provisions require the council to order an election and fix a date 25–35 days after a petition is presented.
Mayor Jerry Cain and other council members acknowledged Delena's concern but said they had relied on legal advice informed by state election code. Council discussion during the consent-agenda vote referenced that legal guidance, and several members pointed to differing interpretations of whether the charter or state code controlled the timing.
The council voted 3–2 to approve the consent agenda (which included the item tied to the recall election paperwork); council members debated both legal interpretations on the record but did not announce a separate, immediate action to set a special election date. The council's recorded motion on the consent items carried 3 to 2.
