Mayor Pro Tem Na'Cole Thompson will step into the role on an interim basis on Oct. 16 until a special election is called.
LEANDER, Texas — The city of Leander will soon start searching for a new mayor, after current Mayor Christine DeLisle announced last week that she would be stepping down from the role mid-term.
During a city council meeting on Sept. 18, DeLisle said she and her family made the decision to relocate.
"I'm sad to not see a lot of our projects through to fruition, but it is 100% the right choice," DeLisle said.
DeLisle, a council member for three years before being elected mayor in 2021, then re-elected in 2024, was set to serve until May 2027. Mayor Pro Tem Na'Cole Thompson will be stepping into the interim role on Oct. 16, until the city calls a special election for mayor.
During DeLisle's time on the dais, Thompson said she was a leader in water infrastructure, adding a full-time conservation specialist; supporting economic development in the area, and adding more parks.
"We're making progress with infrastructure, we're making progress with water, we're making progress with entertainment," Thompson said. "I'm excited to be able to be at the helm when Christine steps away to just continue that forward progress."
Thompson moved to Leander back in 2007 and said since then, the city's population has increased about 10 times in size.
"I've seen Leander grow from 10[,000] to 15,000 [in] population, and now we're knocking on the door of 100,000," Thompson said.
Thompson said many people have been moving to the area for the school district and more affordable housing. Her hope is that as more people keep moving in, they keep developing everything residents need.
"We don't want our residents to always have to lave and go out of the city to go to work, to buy food, to have entertainment, and so we're trying to create a place for that to happen right here in Leander," Thompson said.
Thompson said the next mayor will need to be a strong leader who's focused on development, small businesses, water and parks.
In Leander, council members and the mayor role are still volunteer, unpaid positions, so many of them have other full-time jobs. Thompson said as the city continues to grow, that could be the one thing holding them back from retaining quality leaders.
"We want them to represent so many different interests, and we want them to spend so much time in the community," Thompson said. "It becomes difficult to balance that if you're running a business, have a job, have a family, and then you're taking 10 or 15 hours a week doing council responsibilities."
She said she hopes the city adds compensation to these roles in the future, so they can bring in leaders who are able to dedicate themselves fully to the role.
"That's going to be important as the city continues to grow and move forward, that we do something like that," Thompson said.
Once DeLisle formally files her resignation request, the city will have 120 days to call a special election, which will fill the mayor's seat for the remainder of her term.
KVUE asked Thompson if she herself would run for mayor. She said as of right now, she is just focusing on her role as Mayor Pro Tem.