Sean Crowley Newscast Producer
SOCORRO, TX — The senator sent a letter to council members and Mayor Trini Lopez reguarding changes the city has recently made to its charter; changing term lengths and election dates.
The city increased the term length for councilors from 3 to 4 years and made two changes to election dates, all without voter approval.
First, the mayor, councilman at-large, and district 4 elections have been moved from this past May to November of 2013.
Another election date change for reps of districts 1, 2, and 3, from May 2013 to November 2014.
The Senator says the problem is they violated the Voters Rights Act. The act requires pre-clearance from the Department of Justice before any changes to elections are made. Which Mayor Trini Lopez tells L4N, he's been trying to do for the past two months.
He says he's on his own, and has discussed his concerns with Senator Rodriguez in the past.
L4N has not reached out to other members of council, the city manager, or the city attorney. We hope to hear from them soon.
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