South Texans set a course for Musk’s Starbase
Voters will also be choosing the first mayor of Starbase and two city commissioners. The candidates for all three positions are employees of SpaceX and are running unopposed.
As of Tuesday, 181 people had already cast early ballots, according to county election records, including the candidates for mayor and city commissioners. Musk, who is eligible to vote in this Cameron County special election, has not yet shown up in early voting data.
It’s not clear why Musk or SpaceX want to turn the area into their own city. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Remi Garza, head of elections for Cameron County, said counties are usually more limited in their authority over cities.
“They don’t have the ability to sort of control growth or set standards the same way the municipality could, where they could adopt city codes, building codes and things like that,” he said, adding that cities can exert greater influence over planning and development.
Musk first publicly discussed the idea of a city named Starbase in 2021. The coastal spot is where SpaceX builds its boosters and engines and launches its huge Starship rocket on test flights.
Having greater municipal control could ease some of the red tape around those activities. Earlier this week, however, Texas lawmakers voted against a bill that would have given SpaceX great control over public beach access near its launch facility.
Normally, SpaceX must obtain permission from authorities in Cameron County to close a highway and shut down public access to Boca Chica Beach and Boca Chica State Park to keep people safe during rocket launches.
The frequent closures have contributed to legal complaints against SpaceX, and have drawn protests from local residents and activists, including the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, the South Texas Environmental Justice Network and Border Workers United, as reported by CNBC.
