NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — The New Braunfels City Council voted Monday night to terminate City Attorney Valeria Acevedo following a dispute over the interpretation of the city’s mayoral election results that led to a reversal from an initial election declaration to a runoff.
Council members voted 4-3 to end Acevedo’s employment after weeks of confusion over whether the city’s 2026 mayoral race should be decided by a plurality or a majority vote requirement.
The dispute began when the city initially declared challenger Michael French the winner over incumbent Mayor Neal Linnartz after he received 49.18% of the vote compared to Linnartz’s 38.25%.
City officials later reversed the result after outside legal counsel advised that the city charter conflicted with the Texas Constitution, which requires a majority vote for certain municipal offices. The change triggered a runoff election between French and Linnartz.
Acevedo, who served as city attorney since 2011, said during the council meeting that she and other city officials were unaware of the conflict between the charter and state law until it was raised after the election.
She said the city had operated for years under a plurality-based understanding of the election rules and argued that a runoff was required under applicable law.
Council members were initially split 3-3 on whether to terminate her, before Mayor Linnartz cast the deciding vote in favor of dismissal.
Councilman Lawrence W. Spradley said in a social media post that the election error resulted from “complacency” and said the issue should have been identified earlier through outside legal review.
Council members also set June 13 as the date for the mayoral runoff election between French and Linnartz.
A city spokesperson said an interim city attorney has not yet been appointed and that the matter will be addressed at a future council meeting.
