Cynthia Lenton-Gary is scheduled to become Missouri City’s first African American councilwoman on July 2.
Missouri City Council members canvassed returns Monday evening from the June 16 runoff election, in which Lenton-Gary beat incumbent District B councilman Don Smith with 62.6% of the vote to Smith’s 37.4.
“That should do it,” Mayor Allen Owen said after reading precinct-by-precinct results of the election. “And Cynthia Lenton-Gary is a winner.”
Neither Lenton-Gary nor Smith were present at Monday’s meeting.
Councilman Jerry Wyatt did not appear in council chambers to participate in the vote canvass. But Wyatt – who publicly disputed the legality of Lenton-Gary’s District B residence and threatened to try to block her from joining the council if she won – could be seen in a room behind council chambers both before and after the meeting.
Wyatt also apparently attended a closed session during the meeting, in which, according to the meeting agenda, the council consulted with the city attorney “regarding the Missouri City Charter Section 3.03, relating to qualifications of elected officials.”
That section of the city charter states, in its entirety, “The council shall be the final judge of all elections and of qualifications of its members and any other elected officials of the city.”
While Lenton-Gary says she lives on Mossridge Drive, Wyatt has claimed she lives in a home on Royal Plantation Lane – less than four miles away but outside District B.
Lenton-Gary has said her son now resides in the Royal Plantation Lane home, and that she and her husband lease the Mossridge Drive home from her father. She said her driver’s license lists the Mossridge address, and also said she has voted as a resident of District B in past elections.
The Missouri City charter mirror’s the Texas Election Code in saying a person eligible as a district council member must have resided in the district in question for six months prior to the election.
But while Wyatt has suggested residency could be defined by where a person claims a homestead tax exemption, that does not appear to be borne out in either the state or city code, neither of which clearly defines what constitutes legal residency.
Mayor Owen and council members did not discuss the issue publicly after the executive session. Saying no action was taken during the closed session, Owen adjourned the meeting.
Also on the agenda during the closed portion of the meeting was an item “discuss and deliberate regarding the acquisition of property in the Quail Valley Subdivision.”
While Mayor Owen and council members provided no clue publicly, they presumably discussed their announced plans to consider at least a partial acquisition of the troubled Quail Valley Country Club.
Missouri City Council members canvassed returns Monday evening from the June 16 runoff election, in which Lenton-Gary beat incumbent District B councilman Don Smith with 62.6% of the vote to Smith’s 37.4.
“That should do it,” Mayor Allen Owen said after reading precinct-by-precinct results of the election. “And Cynthia Lenton-Gary is a winner.”
