Kilgore Alcohol Petition Likely Headed to Ballots; Marshall Effort Continues

EAST TEXAS — A drive to place an alcohol proposition on the May ballot in Kilgore achieved its goal Wednesday, while an effort to do the same in Marshall is picking up steam. That’s according to KETK and the Longview News-Journal. In Kilgore, a petition drive that started in late November garnered the required number of signatures Wednesday to ask elected officials to put the measure in front of voters. Kilgore City Clerk Deborah Dane said the signatures would be reviewed by Gregg and Rusk County elections administrators. “Based on the verification of the signatures, it will then be up to the City Council to order the election,” she said.

In both cities, the effort is to let voters decide whether to allow the legal sale of mixed drinks in restaurants by food and beverage certificate holders. Right now, Kilgore and Marshall allow the sale of mixed beverages only in locations designated as “private clubs.”