Venetta Seals

Venetta Seals
Mayor of Pecos, Texas
Assumed office
May 2010
Preceded by Dick Alligood[1]
Personal details
Residence Pecos, Texas
Alma mater University of Texas at El Paso

Venetta Seals is an American politician and businesswoman who has been the Mayor of Pecos, Texas since May 2010. Her current term expires May 2019.[2] Before serving as mayor, Seals was the President of the Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce.[3]

Education and career

Seals graduated from Tyler Junior College with an Associate of Arts, and was a member of Phi Theta Kappa.[4] She continued her education at the University of Texas at Tyler and the University of Texas at El Paso, eventually graduating with a bachelor's degree in Commercial Art Design with a minor in English Literature.[4] While working towards her bachelor's degree, she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.[4]

Prior to becoming mayor, Seals served as the President of the Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce,[3] and is currently a board member.[5] She is the owner of Hang Your Hat Storage, and is the Director of Public Relations, Marketing, Community Development, Physician Recruitment, and Grants for the Reeves County Hospital District.[4]

Prior to being elected mayor, Seals was a member of the Pecos City Council for four years.[6]

Mayor of Pecos

On May 8, 2010, Venetta Seals won the mayoral election with 49% of the vote. She defeated David L. Flores by two percentage points.[7] During her first two-year term as mayor, she saw a spike in housing demand due to increased oil drilling activity in the Wolfbone formation under Reeves County.[8] Pecos' population increased from 8,680 in 2010, to around 9,500 in early 2012, and the Pecos City Council voted to open a 500-capacity RV park to deal with the increase.[8] She also had to deal with the sudden death of City Manager Joseph Gilbert Torres on March 31, 2011, following his indictment for indecency with a child.[9]

On May 12, 2012, Seals was re-elected for a second term, with 496 of 956 votes. She defeated Bernadette Portillo Lopez and Noel Mata Ybarra.[10] During her second term, she defended O'Hara Flying Service, the city's air ambulance, after it was found to have state EMS rule violations.[11] She also dealt with the prolonged closure of the Pecos Zoo due to new regulations.[12]

On May 10, 2014, Seals was re-elected for a third term, defeating David L. Flores with 51% of the vote to his 49%.[13] In September 2014, she oversaw the city's response to heavy flooding after the Pecos River overflowed, with help from state and federal agencies.[14][15] In June 2015, the Mayor supported the Council's ban on plastic bags.[16]

Seals was re-elected for a fourth term on May 7, 2016, with a 35-vote lead.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Archive, Pecos Enterprise, Pecos, Texas". Pecos.net. 2008-08-19. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  2. ↑ "Venetta Seals - Texas State Directory Online". Txdirectory.com. 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  3. 1 2 "Archive, Pecos Enterprise, Pecos, Texas". Pecos.net. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Pecos, TX : Mayor Venetta Seals". Pecostx.gov. 2011-09-20. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  5. ↑ "Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce | Pecos". Visitpecos.com. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  6. ↑ Gordon, Gerald L. (26 June 2015). "The Economic Survival of America's Isolated Small Towns". CRC Press – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ "May 8th Election Results - KFDA - NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, Sports". Newschannel10.com. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  8. 1 2 Corrales, John (2012-03-10). "BOOMTOWN: Wolfcamp, horizontal drilling spur oil resurgence - Odessa American: Business". Oaoa.com. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  9. ↑ Thursday, March 31, 2011 12:00 am (2011-03-31). "Indicted Pecos city manager found shot to death - Valley Morning Star : Latest News". Valley Morning Star. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  10. ↑ Town Council of the Town of Pecos City (May 17, 2012). "Town Council Minutes". Town of Pecos City. Archived from the original on December 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ "West Texas Air Ambulance Has State Violations - KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX". newswest9.com. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  12. ↑ "Pecos Zoo to Remain Closed - KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX". newswest9.com. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  13. ↑ 2014-05-10T23:52:49Z (2016-11-16). "Decision 2014 - May 10 Final Election Results - KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX". newswest9.com. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  14. ↑ "Red Cross Shelter at Pecos High School Closes Today | KRTS 93.5 FM Marfa Public Radio". Marfapublicradio.org. 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  15. ↑ "Pecos River overflows". Kgns.tv. 2014-09-22. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  16. ↑ Lauren Tropea. "Pecos Bans the Use of Plastic Bags - Story". YourBasin. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  17. ↑ "FINAL DECISION: Pecos Residents Voted to Reallocate Funds to Improve Roads". Cbs7.com. 2016-05-08. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
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