EUNICE — Mary Lou Vinson, three-term city councilor, resigned her post last week, according to Eunice City Clerk Candy Brito.
Vinson, reporting her age at 75 years in 2012 when she was first re-elected, earned her second re-election in an uncontested race in March 2016.
“She came in last week and told us about it. It’s her health. She lost her husband and went downhill after that,” Brito said. “She came in and said she wanted to resign her seat.”
Vinson was unavailable for comment Tuesday, but in her response in a News-Sun question-and-answer article in 2012 she said a city councilor’s responsibility is “to be responsive to the needs of the citizens.”
Mayor Billy Hobbs said, “I just appreciate her service with the city, all the help and everything that she brought with it. She did a great job on the city council.”
Hobbs said the city council will begin an immediate search for a replacement, with a social media posting on the city’s Facebook page already asking for letters of interest to be submitted.
Qualifications for becoming a member of the Eunice city councilor are simple, Hobbs said, besides being a qualified voter and resident.
“Just someone who has the best interest of Eunice, loves living in Eunice and wants the City of Eunice to prosper and grow,” he said. “It doesn’t matter about background or education or anything else. We all come from different walks of life, but we have that one thing in common. We all want to see the best for Eunice.”
With the council having filled two vacant seats earlier this year, Hobbs said the process also is simple.
“Just like last time, when I had to resign and Steve (Almager) resigned, we’re going to take anybody interested bring a letter down to city hall and hand it to (Brito). We’ll get with the council and choose a replacement,” he said.
Hobbs resigned his seat on the council after winning the mayoral slot during the city election in March. Almager resigned after two years of service due to increased out-of-town job duties.
The Eunice city council is next scheduled to meet on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
