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]
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]
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]
