(NewsReady.com) – Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio would be 12 years old today if she were alive. Unfortunately, she died in her classroom in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022. Her mother is now running for mayor.
Kimberly Mata-Rubio worked for the Uvalde Leader-News as a reporter before her daughter died. In fact, on May 24, 2022, she was sitting at her desk when the police scanner in the newsroom alerted her to an incident at Robb Elementary. She contacted her husband, Felix Rubio, who was a patrol deputy with the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Department. He raced to the school, and after a few frantic hours, their worst nightmare was confirmed: Lexi was dead.
Since the shooting, Mata-Rubio has traveled back and forth to Washington, DC, and the Texas capital multiple times to lobby for stricter gun laws. Specifically, she wants to get AR-15-style weapons banned. That’s the type of gun used to end her child’s life when she was just 10.
Mata-Rubio is running for mayor because she believes that’s the next step in her activism. The grieving mom said she lacks experience, but her passion for improving the town outweighs that. She went on to say that she knows that she’s going to be staying in Uvalde and wants to make sure it’s the “best possible town” for her other kids and the rest of her community.
The former reporter is now facing off against an elementary school teacher and a veteran politician to become mayor. She knows that she’s the underdog in the race but is hopeful. Like much of the country, Uvalde has been divided in the wake of the shooting that killed 21 people, 19 of whom were children. When parents began pushing for the assault weapon ban, members of the community known for its white-tailed deer hunting pushed back.
Mata-Rubio told The New York Times that she wants to bring the town together. She thinks everyone should be heard. She’s on the right track. In September, she raised $80,000, more than the other two candidates.
The election will be held on November 7. The term has only one year to finish out the current mayor’s because he’s running for higher office. Whoever wins will run for a full term in November 2024.
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