November 21, 2014 12:02 PM

Resignation of Mike Villarreal is not a done deal

Governor's office taps the brakes on San Antonio representative’s plans to quit his House seat

Even though some headlines a couple weeks ago indicated that Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, had resigned his seat so that he could run for mayor of his hometown, Governor Perry's office has put the brakes on those plans for now. For his part, Villarreal sought to assure voters he is committed to running for mayor and he will not serve in the House in 2015.

The hangup is due to the way the Democrat worded his letter, which isn't technically a resignation. Instead, Villarreal said in the letter dated Nov. 6 that he will "decline to assume the office for which I have been elected in the Texas House of Representatives for the 84th Legislature."

In that letter, Villarreal also requested that Perry go ahead and call a special election “quickly” so that people who live in House District 123 will have representation as the session starts on Jan 13 – or at least pretty close to that.

By Scott Braddock