BEAUMONT, Texas — It was a historical day in Beaumont as Robin Mouton was sworn in as the first black female mayor of the city on Tuesday afternoon.
Mayor Mouton claimed nearly 52% of the city's vote against opponent Roy West after the runoff election.
Former mayor Becky Ames said goodbye after 14 years and Mouton took her seat front and center.
"I have four beautiful daughters, so for my daughters to see that someone that looks like them can actually get to a prestigious title like this, it speaks volumes," councilman A.J. Turner said.
It speaks volumes to a lot of people who came for the swearing-in ceremony.
"It's a big crowd of people down there to welcome our new mayor," councilman Mike Getz said.
Inside the chambers, it was standing room only as Mouton thanked her supporters before she took the center seat.
“I'm deeply honored to represent this city, as your 42nd mayor," Mouton said.
And although tough decisions lie ahead councilmembers believe mouton is poised to do well for the city.
"I believe that she has a vision to address the issues that we are facing right now, in public works, in infrastructure, but beyond that, I believe that mayor mouton has a real vision, to move Beaumont forward," Councilman Randy Feldschau said.
A lifelong resident of Beaumont, Mouton believes she knows what the people want from their mayor.
"…And that I’ll be an example of what anyone would want to see in a mayor, and the integrity and pride of Beaumont, because I love Beaumont, and I want to represent the citizens of Beaumont.”
Becky Ames has been the city's mayor for the last 14 years and spent her last full day in office on Monday. She has given "27 years of dedicated service to the City of Beaumont."
The council's meeting is set for 1:30 p.m. at city hall.
"We would like to congratulate and welcome Mayor Elect Robin Mouton who will be sworn in at our meeting today," the city said in a Facebook post on Tuesday morning. "We will have an overflow room available as seating will be limited in our Council Chambers."
During the general municipal election in May, 13,757 votes were cast in the race for Beaumont's mayor.
In the 2019 mayoral race only 82 more votes for mayor were cast at 13,839. Only 10,200 were cast in 2017.
When early-voting ended on Tuesday 13,568 votes had been cast with 12,178 being in-person and 1,390 being mail-in votes.
Full Facebook post from City of Beaumont:
We would like to congratulate and welcome Mayor Elect Robin Mouton who will be sworn in at our meeting today! We will have an overflow room available as seating will be limited in our Council Chambers.
We would also like to recognize that this will be Mayor Becky Ames last City Council Meeting. Thank you Mayor Ames for 27 years of dedicated service to the City of Beaumont.
You can access our City Council meeting packets and agendas, as well as the live video, from our website. Visit the link below to check it out:
You can also watch our City Council meetings live on our YouTube Channel here:
