Zavalla citizens enter race to fill newly vacated city council seats

ZAVALLA, Texas (KTRE) - Candidate filing for a city council position is underway in the city of Zavalla.

The city has made headlines after weeks of sporadic water outages and boil orders. With multiple seats up for re-election, residents will be the ultimate deciders.

The City of Zavalla has experienced water, sewer, and financial issues for the last few months. Many people in the town have been voicing their concerns and opinions over the issues on social media.

Richard Brunk, who has been vocal on the issues, said change could come from this election. He said he registered to run for council on its opening day.

“To me, it really marked a great opportunity for the people of Zavalla to have a better say in what’s been happening in the city,” Brunk said.

There are three seats open for general election and one seat open for a special election. Brunk believes that this election can turn Zavalla’s issues around.

“This last year has been really hard on everybody with the water Issues, the other issues, and the city having major financial issues. We need people on there that have got good business sense, people who know how to run a business. It’s something the city desperately needs,” Brunk said.

Resident Sue Morella said this election is important for the fate of the city.

“We’re just a small town, and we don’t want it to go away. So, we need all the help we can get in the city to keep our city together,” Morell said.

Brunk is concerned because of the low voter turnout in last year’s election. He is encouraging people to sign up to run for the election and encouraging those who don’t to vote when the time comes.

“Whether you vote for me, or you vote for somebody else, I don’t care but get out and vote. Either vote for the people who are going to fix it or vote for the people who are going to keep it the same. This is probably one of the most important times for the city of Zavalla,” Brunk said.

The city secretary as well as one of the council members whose seat is up for re-election verbally resigned yesterday. It will become official at a later date.

The deadline to sign up to run for a council spot is March 6th. The election will be held in early May.

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