New Braunfels Mayor Neal Linnartz is blaming flawed legal guidance and a breakdown in the city’s election review process after city officials reversed an election-night result and ordered a runoff in the mayoral race.
“Regardless of the outcome, New Braunfels deserves to be able to trust that, at a minimum, elections are conducted in compliance with state law and that our next mayor is not seated under questionable circumstances,” Linnartz said in a Wednesday, May 6, statement. “These responsibilities have not been fulfilled by the City Attorney’s Office. The City Attorney owes us all an apology.”
Linnartz said the City Attorney’s Office failed to identify a conflict between the city charter and the Texas Constitution, despite being tasked in 2020 with ensuring local election rules complied with state law. He also criticized a legal opinion issued about two weeks before Election Day that concluded the race could be decided by plurality rather than majority vote.
“This situation stems from a conflict between our City Charter and the Texas Constitution,” City Attorney Valeria Acevedo said in a May 4 statement. “The Constitution clearly requires a majority vote for offices with terms longer than two years.”
What initially appeared to be a decisive outcome quickly unraveled after city officials determined the race had been evaluated under the wrong legal standard. On Saturday, May 2, unofficial results showed challenger Michael French leading the four-person race with 3,667 votes (49.18%), ahead of Linnartz, who received 2,852 votes (38.25%). Two other candidates trailed behind.
Because the race had been interpreted as a plurality election at the time, French was initially declared the winner on election night despite not surpassing 50%.
On Tuesday, May 5, the city reversed course, announcing the mayoral race must go to a runoff after determining local rules conflict with the Texas Constitution. State law requires a majority vote for offices with terms longer than two years, meaning the three-year mayoral term in New Braunfels cannot be decided by plurality.
The abrupt shift has already sparked political tension. French, who initially celebrated victory, criticized the decision and said he was not informed ahead of the runoff announcement, accusing city leadership of overturning a fair election. Meanwhile, Linnartz, who had previously conceded, now returns to the ballot as the race resets.
With no candidate topping 50%, the race now advances to a head-to-head runoff election between Michael French and Mayor Neal Linnartz.
The top two candidates, Linnartz and French, will face off in a runoff election. City officials are coordinating with county election authorities to determine a date, which has not yet been announced.
The runoff will also coincide with another local race, according to city officials, and Linnartz said the City Council will take steps to ensure a similar issue does not happen again: “We, as City Council, will do what is necessary to ensure that the law is followed and restore trust in the City.”