SAN ANTONIO — Uvalde Mayor Cody Smith, elected in November after Don McLaughlin vacated the seat to run for state office, is stepping down "effective immediately."
A press release from the city cites "unexpected medical issues" but didn't elaborate. Everardo Zamora, District 1 City Council member and mayor pro-tem, will fill the seat until voters select the community's next leader in the November election.
“I want to thank members of the Uvalde community for their thoughts and prayers during my ongoing recovery from unexpected medical issues I have experienced in recent weeks," Smith is quoted as saying in the release. "After much consultation and prayer, I have decided to resign as mayor of the City of Uvalde to focus on my health. It has been a great honor to serve the city and community I love."
This was Smith's third term as Uvalde mayor, an office he first held from 2008 to 2012, after winning more than 65% of the vote last fall.
Having previously promised to "do my best to help get this community back together" after the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary, Smith, along with other city leaders, came under fire last month for deciding against immediately acting upon a latest report that detailed wrongdoing on the part of law enforcement responding to the attack despite exonerating nearly 30 city employees, including police officers.
At that March 12 meeting, Smith said "more time" was needed to determine "what, if any, action we can take."
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