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Meanwhile, Kirkland becomes acting mayor
BASTROP — Voters will select a new mayor in a special election May 3 following the resignation of Lyle Nelson last week, just hours before City Council approved a recall effort.
A residents’ petition affirmed by an appellate court paved the way for the embattled Nelson to face an ouster by the electorate, but he chose instead Jan. 14 to step down, claiming a “voting bloc” on the council contributed to his political demise.
Mayor Pro Tem John Kirkland assumed the duties of acting mayor shortly after Nelson resigned as the city’s top executive at a press conference in those same Coun- cil Chambers.
Nelson accused Kirkland of complicity in his short but tumultuous mayoral tenure. Elected in 2023, he would have seen his three-year term expire in May 2026.
“The office of mayor has been subverted by a voting bloc of three on council at the prompting of Mayor Pro Tem (John) Kirkland, who gains personal power through that subversion,” Nelson said.
Kirkland and council members Kevin Plunkett and Cynthia Meyer frequently opposed Nelson.
While the council was slated to announce a recall election at the Jan. 14 session, Nelson’s preemptive resignation prompted an additional meeting Jan. 17, scheduling the special election to fill the mayor’s seat.
The balloting will be the first Saturday in May, held in conjunction with races for council places one and five, held by Cheryl Lee and Kirkland, respectively.
Nelson had faced controversy since nearly the beginning of his election in June 2023. Just two months into his term, he became embroiled in an investigation involving Visit Bastrop, the city’s tourism board, which was probed over the management of taxpayer funds.
Investigators concluded there was no evidence Nelson knew about or was involved in any suspected misapplication of funds, but he was issued a Letter of Reprimand by the Bastrop County Board of Ethics alleging he interfered in the investigation.
Meanwhile, Kirkland has been instrumental in efforts to oust Nelson.
He helped circulate the petition to recall Nelson and submitted a “friend of the court” brief to the Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, at Austin when Nelson’s attorneys filed to have the petition declared invalid.
“Substantially more people signed the recall petition than have ever voted in any Bastrop city election in the history of the city,” Kirkland said in his statement. “Nearly three times the number of people who initially voted for the mayor have signed the recall petition.”
The verified petition contained 1,598 qualified voter signatures, exceeding the statutory requirement of 1,557. Nelson received 567 votes in the June 2023 runoff election and garnered only 412 votes in the general race.
The pet it ion to recall Nelson was originally submitted to the Bastrop city secretary in July 2024. Nelson’s attorneys quickly sent a demand to the city secretary to declare the petition insufficient due to a lack of affidavit signatures on each page, which was successful.
The campaigners resubmitted a petition in September, which Nelson’s counselors again demanded be found insufficient.
Cit y Secretar y Irma Parker, however, certified the resubmitted petition.
Nelson’s attorneys filed suit against the city secretary for validating the petition and asked it to be found invalid by the Court of Appeals.
“There are several safeguards in the Bastrop City Charter to guard against mob lynching parties directed at recalling elected officials, such as Mayor Nelson,” Nelson’s attorneys told the court. “It seems to have gotten lost in the emotionally charged politics of the recall campaign, that (Bastrop) voters built into their ‘Constitution’ protections and requirements that must be met before an elected official’s election will be submitted to another election called to overturn the previous election.”
The appellate court denied Nelson’s suit Nov. 20, declaring the petition valid and clearing the way for the recall election to proceed.
“There are several safeguards in the Bastrop City Charter to guard against mob lynching parties.”
— Attorneys for former Mayor Lyle Nelson
