As expected, the Kingsville City Commission approved a resolution at a special meeting Tuesday ordering a Nov. 2 special election to approve a city charter amendment, which would form seven single member districts and do away with a citizen-elected Mayoral position.

In addition, the petition asks that the qualification of minimum age to run for office be lowered from 21 to 18.

The city election will be held jointly with Kleberg County’s special election.

City Secretary Edna Lopez was designated as the city’s early voting clerk and early voting is scheduled to begin Oct. 18 with mail-in ballots being accepted as early as Sept. 3.

A total of 621 signatures collected by the Kingsville Law Enforcement Association were presented to the commission and certified by Lopez at a meeting July 26.

Tamera Meyers Blackstock, President of the Kingsville Law Enforcement Association, was pleased with the entire process and looks forward to the election.

“Whether or not voters are for or against the issue, we think it is an important issue that should at least be presented to the voters of the community,” she said. “The ultimate goal is to see every

Election street and area of this community fairly represented.”

Since the early 1900’s all of the members of the five-person commission have been elected at large.

Currently, three of the five current commissioners all live within the same area of the community.

If voters approve the charter amendment, the city would be divided into seven districts with a city commission member elected from each district.

The mayor and mayor pro tem positions would then be elected by the city commissioners.

The first election of the seven-member city commission would be held in 2012.

Three of the members would serve a two-year term and four of the members would serve three-year terms to be determined by a drawing.

After that, all the city commission members would serve three-year terms with commissioners elected in staggered terms. Leaders