Tag Archives: Princeton home rule charter

local news

Princeton takes key step toward maturity

Princeton has made a significant turn to becoming a grownup city in North Texas, and its new city charter, formed in a November 2022 election, illustrates a key point I want to make with this brief blog post.

It is becoming a hybrid community of sorts, with part of its expanded City Council representing the entire city with the rest of the council representing those who live within certain voting precincts.

The charter states: Seats 1, 2, and 3 shall be elected by the qualified voters of the City at large. Seats 4, 5, 6, and 7 shall be elected by the qualified voters residing in assigned single-member districts, which shall be implemented for the election of Council Members for those seats held in 2030, but shall be elected by the qualified voters of the City at-large until districts have been implemented.

With that pronouncement, Princeton joins other growing communities in recognizing the desire — and the need — recognize the issues raised by certain neighborhoods.

To be sure, there’s a bit of risk involved with this kind of governing framework. One of them involves the potential for turf battles. City council members might argue that their community’s project is more needed than those sought for another project on the other side of the city. This is where at-large members can step in and cool whatever rancor might develop.

The mayor, of course, will be elected at-large, so we could get a feel for the kind of leadership Eugene Escobar Jr., is able to muster as he leads an expanded governing council. The charter expands the council from five members to seven.

All in all, though, I am delighted to see the city take this important step. My wife and I came to Princeton after living 23 years in Amarillo, a city of 200,000 residents. Amarillo is governed by five council members who all represent the city at-large. We argued at the newspaper where I worked that the a-large system worked for Amarillo. I didn’t agree with that editorial policy, so I spoke out against it when I left the paper in August 2012.

Princeton is taking an important step toward a modern recognition of the huge diversity that exists among its population, which now is estimated to be well north of 40,000 residents.

Welcome to the new world, Princeton City Hall. I wish you all the success you can muster.

economic news, local news, political news

This election is a big … deal!

Pssst. I am going to reveal to you a matter that so far appears to be a secret: Princeton, Texas, voters are going to get a chance in just a few weeks to decide whether to approve a home-rule charter that allows the city to govern itself.

Why is it a secret? Because … state law prohibits the city from spending public money to campaign for a political cause. Unfortunately, the task is supposed to belong to a citizens’ political action committee that hasn’t yet been organized.

I have it from the highest local government authority possible that the PAC hasn’t formed despite the city council’s decision to put the home rule charter on the November ballot. Mayor Brianna Chacon said she has tried to find someone to take on the task of chairing the PAC. No takers.

This is the fifth election Princeton will have conducted to form a home-rule charter. The city’s population has exploded in recent years. The city now contains more than 20,000 inhabitants, according to City Hall estimates.

Here is what I found on the city’s website:

Home Rule Charter | Princeton, TX (princetontx.gov)

Princeton simply needs to take this step toward municipal adulthood. Since the city’s founding, Princeton has been governed as a “general law” city, meaning that it must follow the law with restrictions imposed by the Texas Legislature. Yes, lawmakers from the Valley, the Panhandle, from the Hill Country, the Golden Triangle and the Trans-Pecos region make decisions affecting how Princeton can govern itself.

That has to change. The election set for Nov. 8 will enable the city’s voters to approve a home-rule charter that allows City Hall to make its own rules. That makes sense, right? Well … it does!

I have looked around Princeton for outward signs of political activity regarding the home-rule charter. I haven’t seen a lawn sign, or a bumper sticker, or received a push card or seen any pamphlets extolling the virtues of home-rule governance.

As I understand it, state law bans governments from spending public money to campaign for issues such as home-rule charter. It doesn’t appear to disallow city officials from acting on their own time, spending their own dime and devoting their off-duty efforts to pitching this important measure.

It should never have come to that, but it might.

I am going to hope for the best that enough voters will realize the importance of a growing community such as ours to take charge of its own affairs. It’s a big … deal, man!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

State law silences mayor’s vote on issues

I have an answer to a question I posed in an earlier blog regarding the Princeton, Texas, mayor’s inability to vote on routine issues that come before the City Council.

It’s the law that prevents him from casting votes.

Princeton does not have a home-rule charter. Texas “general law” dictates how the city can govern itself.

It’s not as if the city hasn’t sought to approve a charter. It has gone through four municipal elections to adopt a home-rule document, but voters have rejected it. The issues are complex and, to my mind, misguided. Opponents hold up annexation as a major impediment to home rule, neglecting of course to recognize that the Texas Legislature made it impossible for cities to annex land without property owners’ approval.

The Princeton mayor can vote only to break a tie on the council. For that to happen one of the five council members would have to be absent from a meeting, leaving the council with just four members … excluding the mayor.

All that is left for the mayor to do is, well, just run the meeting. The mayor recognizes council members who choose to speak and calls for the vote.

If I were king of the world — or in charge of matters in the city where my wife and I live — I would recruit a new home rule charter commission and charge them with the task of drafting a new charter.

Then the city should put it up for a vote and then, with the help of residents who can see through the demagoguery that shot down previous efforts, it would be able to have full autonomy to run the city as it sees fit.

Princeton’s mayor needs the ability to cast votes along with his City Council colleagues.