Port Arthur city council members voted to hold a special election on November 3rd, meaning Councilman Derrick Freeman must resign his seat.
The issue came about when Freeman told the Port Arthur News he was seeking the mayor's office, however Freeman denies having formally announced a run for the seat.
Port Arthur's city attorney said city council must follow the Texas Constitution which means Freeman has to resign. Freeman said doing so is against the will of the citizens.
Freeman would not specifically reveal future plans, only to say he has an upcoming "big announcement."
Freeman wanted council to seek an attorney general's opinion, but a majority of council members voted against that. Only Freeman, Mayor Deloris Prince and Councilman Osman Swati voted for seeking advice from the state AG. Freeman said, "I got voted in with close to two-thirds of the people's support, so just to overturn that with one person's judgment, I don't think it's right. "
But Swati and Prince joined other council members in voting for the election, leaving Freeman on his own voting against it. City Attorney Val Tizeno defended her advice to council saying, "This has been done with great deliberations, great research, and there are numerous attorney general opinions, however attorney general opinions are not binding." Tizeno said the Texas Constitution is binding, and she did say Freeman could try to appeal in court.
Freeman said, "I don't want to get involved with a lawsuit with the city, the city's my heart."
Although Freeman would not reveal details of his next political move, Reginald Trainer was not wasting any time. Trainer is the community activist who led citizens' opposition to the Edison Square affordable housing complex. He ran against Freeman for the Position 7 seat in May 2014, and is filing to run for the seat Wednesday.
The special election for Position 7 will be held in conjunction with the state constitutional amendments elections.
As for the mayor's seat that Freeman says he has yet to formally file for, former councilman Harold Doucet is running for it. Incumbent Mayor Deloris Prince can't seek re-election because of term limits.
The election for mayor will be held in May 2016.
