Mayor Kenneth Chesshir said Thursday that he was sitting in his barbershop Monday watching the clock, aware of the fact that he had to file for a ninth term on the City Council by 5 p.m. if he was going to run again.

But he just decided he had done enough.

“I don’t know how long you’re supposed to do it,” he said of public service. “I just decided it was time.”

Chesshir was first elected by the voters of Ward 5 in 1993. Then, in 1996, his fellow council members elected him mayor. He has presided over most City Council meetings since that time because council members have continued to put him back in the office.

City Secretary Tomas P. Saenz said only one other person ever served as mayor of Beeville longer than Chesshir.

W.T. Thompson was elected mayor in 1919 and served until 1933, a total of 13 years and nine months.

“Chesshir will have been mayor 13 years in May,” Saenz said.

“I think John Fulghum deserves to be mayor,” Chesshir said. “He’s been there a long time. I didn’t miss many meetings but when I did, John ran the meetings just fine.”

“I think the council-manager form of government works just fine if you let it,” Chesshir said. He said that, thanks to the city staff, Beeville has remained “in the black” and has maintained a good bond rating. “I give credit to a good management and staff.”

“I made two promises when I first ran for the City Council,” Chesshir said. One was to represent the people of Ward 1 and not let special interests woo me.

“The second was to admit it when I made a mistake.” Chesshir said he kept both promises throughout the years.

Chesshir said he never minded it when city residents called him at work or at home. “If I was able to help, I felt good about it,” he said.

“I was here when the prisons were built and I’ve seen a period of growth,” Chesshir said of his tenure at City Hall. He said he hopes the community continues to prosper.

“I don’t know why it’s time,” he said about leaving the council. “I only know it is.”

Chesshir said the best advice he can give to his fellow councilmen after he leaves office in May is “let the staff do their jobs, listen to the people in their wards and stay away from special interests.”

Chesshir said he has no plans of running for any other political office.

“I’m not mad at anyone,” he said. “I’ll just be an old Beeville statesman now.”

“I think his service to the community should be appreciated,” said Councilman David Carabajal.

Even though Carabajal has only been on the council a year, he said he enjoyed working with Chesshir.

“He did a good job as mayor,” the councilman said.

Carabajal said he thought it was too early to say who might be elected mayor at the first meeting after the May 9 election.

“I know that whomever it is, the vote should be unanimous,” he said.

As far as Chesshir’s support for Mayor Pro Tem Fulghum, Carabajal said that is certainly a possibility.

“John has been there 18 years. If he’s ready for it, I think he’d do a fine job as mayor.”

Chesshir will be replaced by political newcomer Libby Hitchcock Spires. The 43-year-old candidate was the only one to file for a position on the Ward 5 ballot by the 5 p.m. Monday deadline.

She is a certified public accountant who has lived in Beeville for the past 35 years.

The only contested race in the May 9 election will be in Ward 1, where 43-year-old City Councilman Michael Scotten is completing his first two-year term. He is being challenged by another political newcomer, Belinda Saldivar Granado. She is an administrative assistant to County Judge David Silva.

Early voting by personal appearance for the election will begin at 8 a.m. on April 27 at City Hall. Early voting will end on May 5.