A Roswell councilman who has been on a six-month medical leave of absence has resigned.
On Tuesday, Mayor Kurt Wilson indicated via a written statement and video that Councilman Marcelo Zapata would be unable to return for health reasons.
Wilson said Roswell received notification of Zapata’s resignation through his family the same day. During the July 11 meeting, City Council will vote to place Zapata’s council seat up for election on the November ballot, the mayor said.
A notification of the vacant Post 1 seat appears on the city website. The councilman was first elected to City Council in November 2015.
Roswell granted Zapata a six-month medical leave of absence in January and did not disclose the nature of his health issues. Zapata last appeared at a City Council meeting on Nov. 8.
“As the City has respected his privacy during the past several months, we hope that everyone in our community will respect his family’s privacy in the near future,” Wilson said in a statement Tuesday.
Via video, Wilson indicated that he has not talked to Zapata directly but recently met with the councilman’s wife for an update on his health.
“After my conversation with Marcelo’s wife, it was determined that probably Marcelo is not going to make it back,” Wilson said.
Wilson also asked the public to pray for the councilman. The mayor has faced questions periodically about the length of the medical leave granted to Zapata.
“We did the same things that we would do with ourselves or any one of you,” Wilson said ‘We’ve acted responsibly. We’ve acted to protect the privacy of Marcelo and his family...”
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