Voters in the unincorporated area of Cameron County, Texas, known as Starbase—home to SpaceX—will decide on May 3 whether to incorporate it as a city.

If approved, Starbase would become a Type C general law municipality with a commission form of government comprising a mayor and two commissioners. Elections for mayor and commissioner will be held at the same election. The candidate for mayor is SpaceX’s security manager, Gunnar Milburn. Candidates for the commissioner positions include Jenna Pertzelka, SpaceX Operations Engineering Manager, and Jordan Buss, SpaceX Senior Director of Environmental Health and Safety.

A Type C general law municipality is a type of city in Texas. An unincorporated city, town, or village can petition to become a Type C municipality if the population is between 201 and 4,999 inhabitants and meets specific territorial requirements. The area must comprise less than two square miles if the population is less than 2,000 inhabitants or less than four square miles if the population is between 2,001 and 4,999 inhabitants. Type C cities have a commission form of government with a mayor and two commissioners, each serving two-year terms unless voters adopt a measure to extend terms to four years. The commission is required to hold at least one regular monthly meeting and can call special meetings as needed. Type C cities can levy a property tax ranging from $250 to $1,500 per $100,000 valuation, depending on population size.

Kathryn Lueders, the general manager of Starbase, said, “To continue growing the workforce necessary to rapidly develop and manufacture Starship, we need the ability to grow Starbase as a community. That is why we are requesting that Cameron County call an election to enable the incorporation of Starbase as the newest city in the Rio Grande Valley. Incorporating Starbase will streamline the processes required to build the amenities necessary to make the area a world-class place to live—for the hundreds already calling it home, as well as for prospective workers eager to help build humanity’s future in space.”

Starbase is located in the Boca Chica region near Brownsville, at the southeasternmost tip of Texas. SpaceX selected the area to serve as its rocket launch facility, Starship production and testing location, and SpaceX headquarters, first breaking ground in 2014. As of June 2024, Starbase consisted of around 350 acres of land, 220,000 square feet of manufacturing space, and 20,000 square feet of spacecraft bays. Starbase hosted more than 3,400 full-time SpaceX employees and contractors.

Proponents were required to collect signatures from at least 10% of the qualified voters within the area that would become Starbase, Texas. On December 11, 2024, proponents filed 70 signatures. Cameron County Elections Administrator Remi Garza said about 154 people were registered to vote in Starbase. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk responded, “SpaceX HQ will now officially be in the city of Starbase, Texas!” An affidavit from SpaceX’s Senior Manager of Spaceport Operations reported that the area had just under 500 residents. On February 10, 2025, County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr. announced that the signature requirement had been met and ordered the measure to be placed on the May 3, 2025, ballot. He said, “If the election passes, this will be the newest town in Cameron County since Los Indios in 1995. We look forward to seeing the outcome of this election.”