There's a city council election in November. Here's why you should care ... and consider running

City councils can sometimes seem like just a group of people issuing proclamations and posing for photos with shovels and hard hats. But they also decide a bunch of stuff that affects our everyday lives, like what will happen with the land at Baseline and 119th.

Not only can Lafayette’s city council vote on whether to annex this land into our city, but they also can vote to buy it for open space. They can instruct the city manager and city attorney to negotiate with property owners and Texas developers. And more than anything else, they’re OUR representatives. In fact, the city organizational chart lists We The People right at the top. Council, city staff—they all work for us.

Lafayette holds a city council election every November in odd-numbered years. This upcoming election is particularly important, because the council will serve for two years—meaning we’ll likely be electing the people that will vote on the fate of the property at Baseline and 119th.

So mark Tuesday, Nov. 4, election day, on your calendars. And also consider highlighting Monday, Aug. 25, as well. That’s the day petitions are due to run for city council. How great would it be to have supporters of Preserve Lafayette right up there on the council dais in city hall?

Here’s what you need to know about running for the Lafayette City Council.

• Eligibility is easy peasy. You just need to be a registered voter, a resident of the city for 12 or more consecutive months, at least 18 years old, and not in financial default to the city or any state government agency.

  
  

• Everybody who runs for council this year has to turn in a nomination petition to the city clerk by 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 25. Your petition needs to have at least 25 signatures from registered voters living in Lafayette.

  
  

• You can pick up a petition from Deputy City Clerk Christy Orzulak by either walking into city hall or contacting her at Christy.Orzulak@lafayetteco.gov or 303.604.4386 to make an appointment.

  
  

• You can learn more about the election process through this handy packet, including how much council gets paid ($14,802 a year for the mayor, $11,438 for the mayor pro tem and $10,765 for councilors, plus a retirement plan match and an annual rec center pass).

  
  

• City council meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, and they usually have a workshop on the fourth Tuesday. Council members also serve as liaisons to city boards and commissions and selected regional and state entities, which adds another meeting or two to their monthly schedule. Plus, if they’re good at their jobs, they study the meeting agenda packets in advance and communicate regularly with their constituents.

Our city council has seven seats, with the mayor and mayor pro tem elected by council members after each election (usually in December). Four seats are up for election this year.

• Mayor Pro Tem Brian Wong is term limited and can’t run, so his seat is up for grabs.

  
  

• Councilor Nicole Samson has said she won’t run again, so her seat is also up for grabs.

  
  

• Councilor Crystal Gallegos can run for reelection. We don’t know if she will.

  
  

• Councilor Saul Tapia Vega, who was appointed to his seat, can run for election. We don’t know if he will.

In our next newsletter, we’ll let you know who turned in petitions and have been cleared to run for city council. Stay tuned!

The Preserve Lafayette Team