Nearly 50 mayoral and city council candidates filed before the deadline to announce their intent to seek election. Here’s where current council members stand.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — This year’s candidate list is a long one; there’s 47 candidates total that are stepping up to run for mayor and City Council.
We don’t know who will make up our next council, but we do know that from the way things are shaping up the next council will look very different than our current one.
With 47 candidates now in the mix the November election could bring some major changes to City Hall.
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Names you might recognize on the list are longtime President of the Teacher’s Union Dr. Nancy Vera running for at large, and former Mayor Dan McQueen.
And out of ten candidates running for mayor, three are current council members with incumbent Mayor Paulette Guajardo and Councilwoman Kaylynn Paxson.
“(I’m) looking at taking that service to a citywide arena and just ask for that continued support,” Paxson said.
Paxson is currently serving as Mayor Pro Tem during Guajardo’s 30 day suspension.
“That’s really given me that glimpse of what it could look like if if I took this direction and I think that it’s been so inspiring,” she said. “It’s been such a positive transition.”
Councilman Gil Hernandez is also throwing his hat in the ring for mayor.
“You’re — limited to 4 terms as a city councilman. However, you can serve another 4 years or 2 terms if you run for mayor,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez says that his motivation comes from wanting to have more time to see things through.
“Don’t think I ever imagined or even had the ambition to be mayor,” he said. “But you know there’s so many things that we need to do. We need to secure water. There’s several things that need to be done — that I feel like I’m, I’m obligated to complete.”
So what about other current City Council members?
Councilman Eric Cantu — running for re-election in District 3 — is the only one looking to continue leading his district.
Meanwhile, Councilmembers Carolyn Vaughn and Mark Scott are aiming to keep their at large seat and Councilmembers Roland Barrera, Sylvia Campos and Everett Roy are stepping down.
At the end of the day, Paxson says she hopes to unite the community moving forward.
“Very important to me that the next person to really lead the city and the team of leaders that we elect in this next campaign cycle focuses on the community,” she said. “We really need to return our focus to them.”