The San Marcos City Council voted 5-2 against a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza early Wednesday morning, following an extensive public comment session that lasted nearly seven hours.

Council members Alyssa Garza and Amanda Rodriguez put forward the resolution seeking an immediate ceasefire, recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state, and reallocation of tax dollars away from Israel’s military toward local priorities.

Shouts of “coward” and “shame” erupted in the council chambers from supporters in reaction to the vote.

The stakes were raised when Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Trump ally, issued a direct threat to the city in an April 29 letter to Mayor Jane Hughson.

“Israel is a stalwart ally of the United States and a friend to Texas. I have repeatedly made clear that Texas will not tolerate antisemitism,” Abbott wrote. “Anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies.”

The governor pledged to terminate all existing grants with San Marcos and refuse any new ones if the resolution passed, putting funding for essential city services at risk.

Residents Voice Strong Opinions on Resolution

Many residents urged the council to stand firm, despite pressure from the Governor. “We’re here today, in probably record-breaking numbers, to show that although we may be little, we are strong,” said Chloe Dykstra, who lives just outside San Marcos. “What little old San Marcos can do is say we will not be complicit in funding a genocide. We will not be bullied into silence.”

Others, like San Marcos resident Ashley Prevost, emphasized the local relevance of the issue: “Some claim that this conflict is too far away to involve us, but that’s completely false. As many have said before, $4.4 million of our public money has gone to Israel, while our school district is in millions of dollars of deficit.”

Council member Robert Eby, who voted against the resolution, cited financial concerns. “We don’t have enough money to provide the existing services we already have. And yet, we’re growing and we need more services,” he said. “We are going to lose millions of dollars if we pass this resolution.”

Rodriguez, who supported the resolution alongside Garza, condemned the governor’s intervention as an attack on democracy. “The past few days have revealed something deeply disturbing. We’ve witnessed in real time the methods of collective punishment the state is willing to use to force the city to bend the knee,” she said before the vote. “Not because of violence, not because of lawlessness, but because of speech they disagree with.”

In a direct challenge to the governor, she added, “I don’t know where the camera is, but to Gov. Greg Abbott: How dare you?”

Read more at KUT News.