NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS — The New Braunfels City Council voted 4-3 on May 11, 2026, to terminate City Attorney Valeria Acevedo, who had held the position since November 2011. In the first six votes on the termination motion, council members split 3-3 before Mayor Neal Linnartz cast the tiebreaking fourth vote in favor of removal.

During the meeting, Acevedo requested that any decision on her job status be made in public rather than in a closed-door executive session. She then addressed the council and residents about the events leading to her ouster.

"In New Braunfels, for the last 31 years, the mayor has been elected under the understanding that it was 'plurality,'" Acevedo said. "I did not know there was such restriction on the City of New Braunfels due to our mayoral term limits being longer than two years."

The dispute traces to the May 2, 2026, mayoral election, when city officials announced challenger Michael French as the winner with 49.18% of the vote over incumbent Linnartz's 38.25% and two other candidates. On May 4, 2026, outside legal counsel informed the City Attorney's Office of a discrepancy between the city charter and the Texas Constitution, which requires a majority vote for offices with terms longer than two years. Later that day, the council announced a runoff election for mayor.

Each February, the council approves an ordinance recognizing the state Legislature's dates for municipal elections, typically on the first Saturday in May. Ordinance #2026-05, stating that the 2026 mayoral election would be decided by plurality, was approved by the council on February 9, 2026, as part of the Consent Agenda. The City Secretary later discovered that previous ordinances stated the mayor would be elected by majority, which was inconsistent with the City Charter, which dictates plurality.

District 4 Councilman Lawrence W. Spradley addressed the termination vote in remarks following the meeting. "Never take anything for granted and question abnormalities. In this case, she had many small issues that should have been enough to raise questions & resolved with a simple phone call to outside counsel." Spradley said. "This decision was not an easy one, nor was it about personalities, (Val is a wonderful person) or politics just for politics' sake. It is truly only about accountability, transparency, and restoring public confidence after this complete unacceptable breakdown in the matter of our elections."

Council members set the mayoral runoff for June 13, 2026. No interim city attorney has been appointed following Acevedo's termination. A city spokesperson said any future item related to the city attorney role will need to be addressed at a future council meeting.