Mother Of Uvalde School Shooting Victim Running To Be City’s Mayor

Kimberly Mata-Rubio, mother of Alexandria "Lexi" Rubio who was killed in the Robb Elementary School massacre last year, is running for mayor of Uvalde.

Mata-Rubio is running to succeed Mayor Don McLaughlin, who is stepping down after nearly 10 years leading the city to pursue a state House seat. A special election for the remainder of McLaughlin’s term will take place November 7th.

Mata-Rubio’s daughter, Lexi, was among the 19 children killed at Robb Elementary School. Just hours before the shooting unfolded, Mata-Rubio was at the school as Lexi was recognized for getting on the "A" honor roll and was awarded the "good citizen award." 

“This is only the beginning,” Mata-Rubio wrote on Twitter. “I grieve for the woman you would have become and all the difference you would have made in this world,” she said, adding, “I will honor your life with action.”

Mata-Rubio told the Uvalde Leader-News that she wants to "represent the underserved (…) whose voices matter but have long been unheard." 

If elected, the Uvalde Leader-News says Mata-Rubio would be the first woman and third Hispanic mayor of the city.