North Texas Town Elects Dead Man As Mayor

(Maypearl, TX) — The city council of the North Texas town of Maypearl has to come up with a new mayor, since a dead man was accidentally elected on Saturday.

Philip “Doc” Veltman died of leukemia on March 15th at age 71. The Maypearl city district clerk says Veltman was already on the ballot at the time of his death. Veltman defeated former mayor John Wayne Pruitt by 68 votes to 42. Veltman moved to Maypearl in 1990 and previously served on the local school board.

Maypearl Mayor Pro Tem Mark Partin and the new council members could appoint a Mayor to serve out the Veltman term at their next meeting on May 13th. The city plans to seek guidance from the state, since they’ve never faced this situation before.