The mother of a kid slain in a shooting last year in Uvalde, Texas, declared her candidacy for the city's mayor position on Thursday, July 27.
Kimberly Mata-Rubio is the mother of Alexandria "Lexi" Rubio, a young kid killed in last year's school mass shooting.
On May 24, 2022, the second worst school shooting in American history took place at Robb Elementary School, killing 19 fourth graders and two teachers. Her daughter was one among the victims.
A Mother's Bid for Mayor
Don McLaughlin has been mayor of Uvalde since 2014, but he is departing to run for the Texas House. This has opened the door for Mata-Rubio to compete for the mayor's office. In the upcoming special election on November 7, she will compete against one other candidate.
"My other children are going to grow up in this community and I want it to be the best it can be for them," Mata-Rubio told ABC News. She added, "There is so much potential ... 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 is an employee of the Uvalde Leader-News, the town's newspaper. On the day of the shooting at Robb Elementary, she was working. After police waited an hour and a half to launch a counterattack on the shooter, who had barricaded himself in two classrooms, the suspect was slain.
Uvalde is a city of about 15,000 people, located 80 miles west of San Antonio and 60 miles north of the Mexican border. Plans for a special election to replace McLaughlin were announced by the city council on Tuesday, July 25.
Mata-Rubio said she has always been interested in politics, and her interest in local government grew when she was a reporter.
She is the current president of Lives Robbed, an organization formed by parents who lost children to gun violence at Robb Elementary School. In the aftermath of the shooting, Mata-Rubio has been quite public about her dissatisfaction with the local authorities.
Former Mayor Seeks Reelection
Cody Smith, senior vice president of the First State Bank of Uvalde, is also running for mayor. Smith served as mayor from 2008 until he left office in 2012. Before becoming mayor, he served for 12 years on the city council after being elected in 1995.
Smith stated, "I would come to the position with some experience... and then I just want to do anything I can to help this community, you know, heal and, you know, and prosper."
Smith told ABC News that his first step would be to form a group comprised of representatives from the city, county, and school system to work on a permanent monument for the victims of the Robb Elementary shooting.
