Voters in New Braunfels elected Michael French as mayor and Nikki Shaw to the District 6 City Council seat in Saturday’s runoff elections.
French defeated incumbent Mayor Neal Linnartz to win the mayor’s race.
French is a U.S. Army veteran whose military career included assignments supporting White House communications, intelligence work at the Pentagon and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Linnartz is an attorney who has served in numerous community leadership roles.
The mayoral runoff followed a dispute over the city’s election rules. After the May election, city officials determined that state law required a candidate to receive a majority of the vote to win the three-year mayoral term, prompting a runoff and leading to the City Council’s removal of City Attorney Valeria Acevedo.
In the District 6 City Council race, Shaw defeated incumbent Councilmember April Ryan.
Shaw is a retired U.S. Army combat medic who served 20 years in the military. Ryan is the co-owner of 2tarts Bakery and a longtime civic volunteer.
