At its Nov. 16 meeting, City Council voted 5-1 to postpone a resolution created to affirm that the city of San Marcos is a welcoming community that does not tolerate hate or extremism. 
The vote came in response to nationwide outrage after an incident on Oct. 30, 2020, where multiple Donald Trump supporters surrounded a Joe Biden campaign bus going north on I-35 through San Marcos and Hays County.
According to reports of several 911 calls, the city failed to respond endangering the people on the bus and causing a campaign event at Texas State to be canceled. 
Hays County is facing a federal lawsuit whereas prosecutors argue that San Marcos violated the federal Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. The act states that state officers can be sued for the violation of civil rights. 
The vote to postpone the affirmation will likely come after the lawsuit has gone to court. During the conversation, council member Maxfield Baker spoke out against extremism within the city in both regular civilians and law enforcement. 
“Some of the verbiage in here is a dog whistle and some of the people in our community are responding very aptly to those dog whistles. They are spreading hate at Texas State, they’re spreading hate in our community, and now we’ve seen it even infiltrate potentially our own police department,” Baker said.
Prior to the meeting, newly elected City Council member Jude Prather and reelected council member Mark Gleason were officially sworn into office. Gleason thanked the people of San Marcos for his reelection.
“It’s a great honor to be reelected to the City Council and I would like to thank all of the citizens of San Marcos for trusting me to continue my service to the city,”  Gleason said. 
Prather thanked his family for their support and said he looks forward to his term on City Council.
“I owe a lot to my wife and my family, Bonnie, for supporting me during all of this but I look forward to the challenge and the tough work ahead,” Prather said. 
The San Marcos City Council meets at 6 p.m. every first and third Tuesday of each month. For more information, visit the City Council website.