OAN’s Noah Herring
5:34 PM – Thursday, July 27, 2023
Kimberly Mata-Rubio, the mother of Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio, who was killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde last year, announced on Thursday that she is running for mayor.
Mata-Rubio is looking to succeed Mayor Don McLaughlin (R-Texas), who is stepping down after 10 years of leading the Texas city. McLaughlin announced that he stepped down in order to run for a Texas House seat in District 80.
A special election for the remainder of McLaughlin’s term, will take place on November 7th.
“My other children are going to grow up in this community and I want it to be the best it can be for them,” said Mata-Rubio. “There is so much potential. There are things I love about Uvalde — so much history and a rich culture — and I don’t want this town to stay where it is and just be remembered for this tragedy. I want to move forward but I want to bring along our children and those two teachers.”
Mata-Rubio currently works at the local newspaper, The Uvalde Leader-News. She was at work the day that the massacre at Robb Elementary school took place.
“There is a need to bridge the gap right now. We are a fractured community,” said Mata-Rubio. “That is not the town I know. That is not the town I grew up in. So, I also want to come together because only when we come together is when we are going to be able to evolve.”
The mothers daughter was among the 19 fourth graders and two teachers who were fatally shot inside Robb Elementary School in May 2022. Mata-Rubio has since demanded answers on why it took more than an hour for the gunman to be intercepted by law enforcement. She has also been a vocal supporter of gun control, calling for a ban on assault riffles.
Cody Smith, a senior vice president at the First State Bank of Uvalde, is also running for mayor after previously serving as mayor from 2008 to 2012. Prior to his service as mayor, he was a member of the city council for 12 years.
“I would come to the position with some experience,” said Smith, “[…] and then I just want to do anything I can to help this community, you know, heal and, you know, and prosper.”
Smith stated that his first initiative if elected would be to work towards building a permanent memorial to honor the lives lost in the shooting.
Smith and Mata-Rubio both grew up in Uvalde, a small city with around 15,000 residents located 80 miles west of San Antonio. Both candidates will have until September 6th to file for the special election. The new mayor elect will take office 24 days after Election day. Their term will last one year.
After the one-year term is up, there will be another mayoral election which will be for a four-year term.
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