Hooks City Council retools without mayor

HOOKS, Texas - It is still unclear whether or not this little town west of Texarkana has an active mayor, but it does have a new council member.

Hooks City Council voted to fill the vacated Place 3 seat Monday evening.

The council elected Gary Wright, who was sworn in during a special council meeting.

Mayor Jimmy Cochran was not at the meeting.

Wright replaces Nick Graves, who resigned on May 21 because he moved to Texarkana and no longer met residency requirements.

Since Wright was the only person to file in February, council members voted to go ahead and appoint him.

After being sworn in, Wright, a lifelong resident of Hooks, said several city residents encouraged him run for office and that he is looking forward to serving.

Wright doesn't have much background on the political circuit, but he has lots of experience on another circuit.

"I've spent most of my life racing cars," he said.

Meanwhile, the city still hasn't received a formal resignation letter from its mayor Jimmy Cochran, who told the city secretary last week that he quit the office. He had been in office since 2016.

Cochran didn't file in February for another term, so regardless of what his status is now, Hooks will elect a new mayor in November.

Originally city elections were scheduled for May and thus would already be over and Cochran's term would likewise be over. The elections, however, were moved to November in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, Cochran's term doesn't expire for another four months.

Attempts to contact him for comment by presstime have been unsuccessful.

Two candidates filed the mayor's position in February: Al Turnage and Greg Rowe.

Cochran previously served as mayor from 2010 to 2011 before stepping down to work as the city supervisor. Cochran also served as a City Council member, starting in 2008.

Following the meeting, Hooks Mayor Pro Tem Marcd Reiter said that he wasn't sure what the city requirements were as it relates to moving forward without a formal letter of resignation from the mayor. Reiter said he hoped the Council might have something more concrete by the time it meets again later this month.

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