Century votes yes on two of three issues

'Two of three ain't bad' is how Century Mayor Louis Gomez, Jr., describes the results of Tuesday's election in Century with two of the three amendments to the town's charter passing and one failing.

Voters rejected amendment No. 2 321 to 196 that would have given the mayor more power to hire and fire employees.

Amendment No. 1, which gives the mayor the ability to spend more than $199 without council approval and eliminates the need for at least three bids over that amount, passed on a 299 to 218 with the council to set the spending limit for the mayor.

Ordinance No. 3 on the ballot, which will clean up the town's charter's language for clarification of policies was approved on a 372 to 144.

Gomez said he hopes to get amendment No. 2 back on the ballot for the next election in four years, noting again it's not about him being mayor, but putting things in place for the next administration.

"It's imperative we move Century in a different direction," said Gomez. "We need a cleaning lady, and I still have to take that to the council and that will take six weeks when it shouldn't."

Gomez said he felt it was a setback, but at least he can get some contracts and work done and get the council to go through the town's policies and make decisions that are best for the town. He is happy the town can 'piggyback', participating in state contracts that larger municipalities utilize, to save the town money, which was not allowed by the town's current charter.

Gomez was glad the town will have a chance to clean up the town's more than 40-year-old charter, with the passage of amendment 3, citing that it will clean it up and make it a lot clearer than it is right now.

"I think it's a win for Century, I think it's a win for the council and I think it's a win for the citizens," said Gomez. "The times have changed. It took five council members to get it on the charter. It was not just my decision alone, it was what the council thought was best for the town, which I think was a great step forward in making progress. At the end of the day, you're going to see the outcome of just what they did by passing those two."