Zavalla is facing tumult as city officials announce their resignation ahead of an election cycle where four of the council’s six seats are already up for grabs.
The city is now seeking residents to fill all but one council seat, held by Amber Reppond, this election cycle. Zavalla also is seeking a new city secretary.
Mayor Carlos Guzman announced his resignation via text Tuesday afternoon, the day after Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Hulon Miller resigned from his post and was replaced by Jeff Mann. Guzman’s term was set to end in May 2024.
GUZMAN
Guzman’s last day will come three days after city secretary Waunesa Herrington’s last day, which is Jan. 31.
Their resignations were preceded by the resignation of the public utilities director and two public utility employees, and all follow significant failures in the water system that left residents either without water or boiling water over the holidays.
The staff positions have already been filled by the city, but the mayor’s seat and city secretary will be more difficult to fill.
Guzman retired after seven years in office. In those seven years, he said improvements were hard fought and not entirely supported by the community. He was most proud, however, of a $3.2 million infrastructure grant he and Herrington secured for the city that is in the process of being used on city streets.
And while not everyone agreed with his decisions, Guzman said he did the best he could.
“I think it’s time for me to walk away,” he said.
He came to this position after careful thought, prayer and conversations with his wife, he said. He wants to be closer to his grandchildren in Beaumont and said he looks forward to the day when he lives within a mile of them.
The mayoral position cannot be appointed, however, it must be elected, he and the newly appointed Mayor Pro Tem Kim Retherford said. Retherford will fill in for Guzman, as a mayor pro tem would do in any other situation where the mayor was unavailable, until a new mayor is elected.
Retherford can attest to the struggle to push for accountability and change in a city that has not required it. She will not resign from her position, but her term is up this spring, and she is not running for election again.
“I just have too much going on in my personal life to be able to try to keep up with it,” she said.
The job has required council members to be out and serving the community in situations like those seen over the holidays, and it is not something Retherford can do, she said. But there are things the city needs to get a handle on, she said.
“We need people that want to be dedicated and who realize that when you decide to do civic duty, sometimes you don’t get to pick the time,” she said
Until that time, she will help Zavalla hire a new city secretary — a position that comes with its own unique challenges as Herrington also was a department head. The city is not sure how this will affect filling the position and is working through any legal questions they may have before they begin the hiring process.
“We want to make sure that we cover ourselves by Texas State Law,” she said.
But several people have applied for the position already, she said.
The hunt for new city council members has not been as fruitful. Herrington said one person, Richard Brunk, has applied to run for city council since the filing period opened Jan. 18.
The filing period for the Zavalla election closes at 4:30 p.m. March 6.