by SEAN KIMMONS

Mayoral candidate Michelle López quietly resigned her seat on the Kyle city council three weeks ago, she told the Hays Free Press Tuesday.

Because her term is scheduled to expire in May, López was not required to resign her seat to enter the race for mayor, unlike other candidates with more than a year left on their terms. But López, whose resignation was effective on Jan. 12, said she wanted to make sure she ran a clean campaign.

“I just felt it would make everything clear and transparent,” she said of her resignation.

López stressed that she was only required to inform the current mayor and the city secretary of her resignation, she said. Other councilmembers were unaware that she had stepped down, including López’s opponent in the mayoral race, Lucy Johnson.

Lopez said she wasn’t trying to keep her resignation a secret.

“I didn’t think I needed to make a public announcement,” she said.

City officials said it’s not typically their responsibility to announce resignations of those vying for public office.

“It certainly wasn’t kept a secret,” Kyle spokesperson Jerry Hendrix said. “In the past, the councilmembers take it upon themselves to do that. As a matter of practice we haven’t done that.”

Resigned or not, if Lopez loses the mayoral race, she will continue to serve at council meetings until her term ends in May. She’ll also have the option of seeking reelection to her current seat.