By BARBARA GREEN
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Gaylynn Burris, defeated in last November’s mayoral election by 81 votes, took the oath of office Monday night to fill out the unexpired term of Mayor Bill Miller who resigned on April 30.
Burris was selected by the Bowie City Council after she was the lone person to apply during the week-long period to fill the post. The council scheduled a called meeting for Monday night to interview candidates and select a new mayor.
The city council has been in upheaval since Miller resigned on April 30 less than six months into office. His resignation was accepted at the May 11 meeting and the council set up the process to fill the post.
As per the city charter, the council had to fill the vacancy within 30 days or schedule a special election. If an appointment was not made an election was automatic.
Mayor Pro Tem Jason Love told the council at the May 11 meeting he felt “more suited” to serve as a councilman and was not interested in taking the mayor’s term.
Late Friday as the called meeting was being posted, Councilor Thomas Kent submitted his resignation in protest of Burris being considered. He stated in his resignation that Burris had been voted out so she should not be eligible for reappointment to the same office.
Kent, elected to his precinct position in November 2018, said his resignation created a “double vacancy” within the council and therefore a special election was necessary.
The city charter does state when there is more than one vacancy at any one time a special election shall be called within 30 days. However, city officials obtained multiple legal opinions about this question to assure appropriate action was taken.
Che Rotramble, city attorney, said when an officer submits a resignation, immediate or future, the vacancy occurs on the date the resignation is accepted by the council or on the eighth day after the date of its receipt by the appropriate authority, whichever occurs earlier. The Texas Election Code, Sec. 201.023 states the same.

Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.