Burnet welcomes new councilors, selects mayor pro-tem
Burnet councilors Anthony Francisco (left), Sky Hullum, Lee Carney, Gary Wideman, Crista Bromley, Joyce Laudenschlager, and Ricky Langley. Staff photos by Caden Senn
The Burnet City Council welcomed four new councilors on Tuesday evening, May 12, filling three seats left by exiting councilors and a fourth partial-term seat that has been vacant since December 2025. Councilors also appointed newly-elected member Crista Bromley as mayor pro-tem.
Burnet residents voted from a pool of five candidates on May 2 to appoint Lee Carney, Anthony Francisco, and Sky Hullum to two-year council terms. Crista Bromley, who ran unopposed, was selected to take on the unexpired one-year term.
After the four councilors were sworn in, the new council voted to appoint Bromley as mayor pro-tem, serving as second-in-command to Mayor Gary Wideman in the case he were to become unable to serve. Bromley previously served as mayor, terming out in 2023.
(New Burnet Councilors) The new city councilors, including Anthony Francisco (left), Sky Hullum, Lee Carney, and Crista Bromley; and Mayor Gary Wideman.
Prior to welcoming the new councilors, Mayor Wideman took a moment to recognize the hard work put in by the three exiting councilors, Philip Thurman, Tommy Gaut, and Cindia Talamantez.
“Thank you so much for the services that you gave, and for your willingness to work and to work hard,“ Mayor Wideman said. “You guys (addressing the new councilors) have some big shoes to fill.”
(Exiting Burnet Councilors) The three councilors leaving their seats, Philip Thurman (left), Tommy Gaut, and Cindia Talamantez, received commemorative awards from Mayor Wideman and the city for their service.
Ex-Mayor Pro-Tem Thurman also took a brief moment to address the new councilors and share with them the weight of council work.
“To the new guys coming in, you can hear but that doesn’t mean you’re listening, and you can talk but that doesn’t mean you’re communicating,” Thurman said. “When you’re on the dais, that’s your most powerful moment, your most impactful moment. Please use every one of those moments for the city of Burnet and the people that are in it to do what the people want.”
After the changing of the guard, the new councilors jumped right to work, tackling the evening’s agenda.