Official vote canvass is accepted, council members sworn in
The San Marcos City Council held the canvassing required by law in connection to the results of the Nov. 7 General Election this past Thursday, followed by the swearing in of two of its returning members who each won their elections.
San Marcos City Council Member Place 4 Shane Scott and San Marcos City Council Member Place 3 Alyssa Garza have officially begun another term.
The council also held an election for Mayor Pro Tem and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem–the person responsible for conducting the meeting in the mayor’s absence and the next in line.
Mayor Pro Tem is now Garza and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem is San Marcos City Council Member Saul Gonzales.
The Hays County voter turnout for the November 2023 Uniform Election was 16.13%, with 27,826 ballots cast out of 172,459 registered voters in the county.
San Marcos Firefighter Jay Horton swore in Scott. Each returning council member was given a certificate of election by San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson. Scott received 2,818 or 64.29% of the votes. His opponent Atom Von Arndt received 1,565 or 35.715.
“This is to certify that Shane Scott was duly and legally elected to the office of city council member place 4 of the city of San Marcos, Texas,” Hughson said. “The general election [was] held Nov. 7 of 2023 in which he received a majority of the votes cast.”
San Marcos City Council Member Place 3 Alyssa Garza ran unopposed and received 3,932 or 100% of the votes.
“This is to certify that Alyssa Garza was duly and legally elected to the office of city council member place 3,” Hughson said. “She received a majority of the votes cast.”
Cohen referred to Garza as a “sister in service” and said she was looking forward to her next term and the policies that would result from it.
For the Mayor Pro Tem position, Gonzales nominated Garza and San Marcos City Council Member Matthew Gonzales nominated San Marcos City Council Member and current Mayor Pro Tem Mark Gleason.
San Marcos City Council Member Jude Prather said that although Gleason did a great job as Mayor Pro Tem, he believed it was important to have different people in those positions each time.
Garza received the position in a four to three vote. Scott nominated Gonzales for Deputy Mayor Pro Tem, which the council voted for unanimously.
