Venetta Seals

American politician

Venetta Seals

Mayor of Pecos, Texas
In office
May 2010 – June 2019
Preceded by| Dick Alligood[1]
Succeeded by| David Flores
Personal details
Residence| Pecos, Texas
Alma mater| University of Texas at El Paso

Venetta Seals is an American politician and businesswoman who was the mayor of Pecos, Texas from May 2010 to June 2019.[2] Before serving as mayor, Seals was the president of the Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce.[3]

## Education and career

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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

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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]

She ran for a fifth term in the May 4, 2019, mayoral election[18] but failed to garner enough votes against opponents David L. Flores and Jesus Orosco, leading to a runoff between Seals and Flores. The runoff election occurred on June 8, 2019, and resulted in Seals losing to Flores by 221 votes.[19]

## References

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1. ^ "Archive, Pecos Enterprise, Pecos, Texas". Pecos.net. August 19, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
2. ^ "Pecos posts unofficial runoff election totals". cbs7.com. June 8, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
3. ^ a b "Archive, Pecos Enterprise, Pecos, Texas". Pecos.net. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
4. ^ a b c d "Pecos, TX : Mayor Venetta Seals". Pecostx.gov. September 20, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
5. ^ "Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce | Pecos". Visitpecos.com. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
6. ^ Gordon, Gerald L. (June 26, 2015). The Economic Survival of America's Isolated Small Towns. CRC Press. ISBN 9781482248838 – via Google Books.
7. ^ "May 8th Election Results – KFDA – NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, Sports". Newschannel10.com. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
8. ^ a b Corrales, John (March 10, 2012). "BOOMTOWN: Wolfcamp, horizontal drilling spur oil resurgence – Odessa American: Business". Oaoa.com. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
9. ^ "Indicted Pecos city manager found shot to death – Valley Morning Star : Latest News". Valley Morning Star. March 31, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
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 December 5, 2016.
12. ^ "Pecos Zoo to Remain Closed – KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX". newswest9.com. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
13. ^ 0T:49Z (November 16, 2016). "Decision 2014 – May 10 Final Election Results – KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX". newswest9.com. Retrieved December 5, 2016.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
14. ^ "Red Cross Shelter at Pecos High School Closes Today | KRTS 93.5 FM Marfa Public Radio". Marfapublicradio.org. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
15. ^ Reyes, Justin J. (September 22, 2014). "Pecos River overflows". Kgns.tv. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
16. ^ Lauren Tropea (June 23, 2015). "Pecos Bans the Use of Plastic Bags – Story". YOURBASIN. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
17. ^ "FINAL DECISION: Pecos Residents Voted to Reallocate Funds to Improve Roads". Cbs7.com. May 8, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
18. ^ "What's On Your Ballot in May? A Guide To 2019 Elections in West Texas". marfapublicradio.org. April 1, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
19. ^ "Pecos posts unofficial runoff election totals". cbs7.com. June 8, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.