Mom of Uvalde Victim Won't Be Town's Next Mayor

Kimberly Mata-Rubio says she won't stop fighting
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 7, 2023 11:09 AM CST
Updated Nov 7, 2023 9:21 PM CST
Mom of Uvalde Victim Tries to Make History, and Change
Uvalde mayoral candidate Kimberly Mata-Rubio, left, and campaign manager Dr. Laura Barberena canvass a neighborhood in support of Mata-Rubio's campaign on Oct. 21 in Uvalde, Texas.   (AP Photo/Darren Abate, File)
UPDATE Nov 7, 2023 9:21 PM CST

The mother of a 10-year-old girl killed in the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday lost her race to become mayor of the town. A former Uvalde mayor, Cody Smith, was instead voted back in to replace the current mayor, who is stepping down to pursue a seat in the Texas State Legislature, the AP reports. "I'll never stop fighting for you, Lexi. I meant it when I said this was only the beginning," posted Kimberly Mata-Rubio Tuesday night on X. "After all, I'm not a regular mom. I'm Lexi's mom."

Nov 7, 2023 11:09 AM CST

Some residents of Uvalde, Texas, feel officials are too eager to move on 18 months after a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School. That's why they're supporting Kimberly Mata-Rubio, a 34-year-old mayoral candidate and grieving mother, whose 10-year-old daughter, Lexi, was gunned down. Mata-Rubio, an employee of the Uvalde Leader-News who's facing off against former mayor and banker Cody Smith and elementary school teacher Veronica Martinez in a Tuesday special election, has vowed to make Uvalde, a town of 15,000, "a place where every citizen feels heard ... and where tragedies like the one my family experienced catalyze positive change for all," per the Texas Tribune.

The mayoral election, the first since the May 2022 shooting, "is a test of how the town chooses to move forward," per the AP. Though Mata-Rubio failed to achieve change in the form of stricter gun laws, including an assault weapons ban, at the state and federal level, she knows change can come locally. "I know she'll work tirelessly to provide better living, better everything," Brett Cross, who lost his son, Uziyah, in the shooting, tells the Tribune. But other residents don't like the idea of a mayor who's a constant reminder of an incredibly dark day, per NPR. Mata-Rubio, a lifelong Uvalde resident who could become the town's first female mayor, has also been criticized for a lack of political experience and for her involvement in a class-action lawsuit against the city.

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The Tribune describes Smith as her "strongest opponent." First elected to City Council in 1994, he served two terms as mayor in 2008 and 2010. He also raised $33,000 for his campaign by the end of September—$33,000 more than Martinez. Mata-Rubio, however, more than doubled Smith's total with around $80,000, per the Tribune. Though she acknowledges she can't be separated from the shooting, "I also understand that there's this need to move forward because you don't want to stay in this heaviness, this pain," she tells NPR. "My main focus is bringing the community back together because we cannot move forward ... until we are on the same page," she adds, per the AP. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two will meet next month in a runoff. (More Uvalde stories.)

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