BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont voters are voting for mayor and 12News moderated a live, one-hour debate before the election to give voters a chance to meet the candidates.
The Beaumont mayoral debate featured all three candidates including incumbent Robin Mouton and challengers Roy West, Jr. and James Eller, Jr.
The 12News debate was moderated by anchors Jordan Williams and Brenda Matute and will air live from the 12News studio on Thursday evening, April 27, 2023, from 6 p.m. - 7 p.m., as all three candidates answer questions live and in-person.
If you missed the debate live you can check our YouTube playlist below for a full replay plus each question segment separately. Or watch the replay on Roku or FireTV via the 12News+ app.
The deadline to register to vote and cast a ballot in Beaumont's race for mayor is the 30th day BEFORE the election. The deadline to register and be eligible to vote in May is April 6, 2023.
The municipal election will be held on Saturday, May 6, 2023, from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Early voting will be held from April 24, 2023 through May 2, 2023.
On election night all results will be posted at 12NewsNow.com/elections.
Robin Mouton
Beaumont Mayor Mouton is seeking re-election after serving her first term as the city's first Black female mayor. West, who ran in the last mayoral election, and Eller will be running against her.
Mouton beat West with 52% of the vote and a margin of a little more than 600 votes in a runoff election in 2021.
“I am running to complete the mission of continuing to build a better Beaumont with the commitment to continue creating a strong workforce, economic development, downtown revitalization, and a safe city for people to live work and play," Mouton was quoted as saying in a statement.
She became the city's first new mayor to be elected since 2007 when she replaced former mayor Becky Ames who held the office for 14 years.
Mouton is a lifelong Beaumont resident and previously represented Beaumont's Ward 4 on city council for six years and served as the Mayor Pro Tem from 2016 to 2017.
She also worked for 32 years as a sales executive with AT&T.
Roy West, Jr.
Beaumont businessman West first ran for mayor in 2021 and ended up in a runoff with Mouton the same year.
West is a Beaumont native who went to West Brook High School and graduated from Lamar University.
"Beaumont is my home. I love Beaumont and I want it to thrive. I want my grandchildren to want to live here in 20 years," he said.
West says he believes that the city is doing a good job, but there is always room for improvement.
He says he would like to continue work on drainage, bring families back to downtown and provide the youth with after school programs, summer programs and life skills programs.
"Who's going to lead that if it's not the mayor. I think the mayor's role can be very important and can help bring this community together because it's not an us against them we should be here for everybody," he said.
In his 2021 campaign the mortgage lender and radio host championed drainage issues, roadways, racial issues across the city and efforts to revitalize Beaumont and make it attractive for the next generation.
West says he plans on being an active member in the community and will continue to promote several of the things that he focused on in his 2021 campaign.
James Eller, Jr.
While this is Eller’s first time running for mayor, he did run for an at-large council member seat in 2021.
From infrastructure to police transparency, Eller wants to focus on issues that he believes are affecting everyone. His top priority is transparency.
“We have to be a transparent government, so citizens can know that we're protecting them,” Eller said.
He believes the transparency should start with the Beaumont Police Department.
"I really want to push for body-worn cameras to be accessible,” Eller said. "We need to have that information transparent. We need to be able to have that. We need to be able to have a citizens review board to be able to look over the police."
Even though he has never held office, Eller said he had fought for the community as an everyday citizen.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.