Embattled Arredondo quits Uvalde council

Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, the school police chief in charge of the botched law enforcement response to the May 24 school shooting in Uvalde, won a City Council seat two and a half weeks before the massacre. Many Uvalde residents turned against Arredondo in the weeks following the killing of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School, with some calling for his ouster from council. Arredondo quietly resigned on Saturday, bowing to the pressure. Not that he’s had much of a presence at City Hall. He was sworn in as the District 3 councilman during a private ceremony a week after the shooting, and hasn’t attended a single meeting since then. As the weekend began, residents were stunned, learning of his resignation from the Uvalde Leader-News. In a letter sent Saturday afternoon to the city secretary, Arredondo said the mayor, council members and city staff “must continue to move forward to unite our community, once again.”

“It is in the best interest of the community to step down as a member of the City Council for District 3 to minimize further distractions,” he wrote. Mayor Donald McLaughlin Jr. said he first learned that Arredondo was leaving the council in a text message containing a link to the Leader-News story. He later was given a copy of the resignation letter Arredondo had written Friday and sent via email. Arredondo, 50, could not be reached for comment on Saturday. But he spoke earlier with the local newspaper. “After much consideration, I regret to inform those who voted for me that I have decided to step down as a member of the city council for District 3,” he said. “I feel this is the best decision for Uvalde.” Neither McLaughlin nor Councilman Ernest “Chip” King III were aware of his decision until the story broke. It also wasn’t clear when Arredondo’s resignation would become effective. His letter didn’t address the timing of his exit. The mayor said Arredondo’s departure would give families and citizens “a sense of relief.”