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Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie fell short in collecting the required number of signatures to bring forth a charter change election.

Bartie submitted approximately 1,700 signatures in his petition drive to the city secretary’s office for verification last week.

He needed 1,396 verified signatures to place the issue on the ballot but learned approximately 1,200 were officially verified.

Signatures needed to be of registered voters living in the city.

“At this point I thank God for the opportunity to serve and move on to the next thing He has for me,” Bartie said.

Bartie was hoping to collect enough signatures in his petition drive to place a charter change on the November ballot to allow for the mayor and councilmembers to serve three 3-year consecutive terms.

Since Bartie is serving his last term and the next municipal election for the city isn’t until May 2025, the issue needs to be placed before voters in the November election to have an impact on the 2025 election cycle.

The city secretary will present the official count to the city council next week for validation.