Uvalde City Council rejects Pete Arredondo’s request for leave of absence from city council meetings

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — The City Council in Uvalde has voted to deny a leave of absence from future meetings for newly elected member Pete Arredondo.

Arredondo, who is also the Uvalde CISD police chief, requested the leave of absence.

He was sworn in as a councilman about a week after the shooting at Robb Elementary School that claimed the lives of 19 students and 2 teachers. Arredondo was elected earlier this year. If he misses three consecutive meetings, his seat will be declared vacant. Tuesday’s meeting was counted as the first that he has missed.

Arredondo is under intense scrutiny after state officials placed the blame on him for the long delay in stopping the shooter.

Several members of the community spoke against granting Arredondo a leave of absence and many applauded when city council voted to deny his request.