Everything we know about the 3 people who want to run Starbase, Texas’ next city

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BROWNSVILLE — Little is publicly known about the three people poised to lead Texas’ next city, Starbase, which includes the launch site for Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

There have been no signs of a traditional campaign along the Boca Chica Beach region in South Texas, where the proposed town is located about 20 miles east of Brownsville. No yard signs. No campaign websites. No candidate forums.

In fact, each candidate signed a pledge not to accept more than $1,110 in political contributions for this election.

The dearth of campaigning stems in part from the fact all three are running unopposed. If a majority of the nearly 300 eligible voters — many SpaceX employees — approve the city’s incorporation Saturday, the three candidates win automatically. And they’ll be tasked with creating the city from the ground up.

While their priorities remain unknown, the entire purpose of the city is to help SpaceX grow.

What is known about the candidates comes from public records and social media sites, reviewed by The Texas Tribune and Sunlight Research Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization. Each candidate was contacted multiple times by the Tribune. They did not return interview requests.

Here’s what we found.

Robert “Bobby” Peden, mayor candidate

Robert "Bobby" Peden, 36, has worked for SpaceX for 12 years. He started out as a ground support equipment engineer in 2013 at Space's Rocket Development Facility in McGregor. His job location changed to Starbase in December 2023 where he now works as the vice president of "Texas Test and Launch."

Peden has a degree in mechanical engineering from Arkansas Tech University and a master’s degree in engineering mechanics from the University of Texas. He resides at Boca Chica Village with his wife and three children.

His home, according to property records, is owned by the Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX. Peden has worked in Texas since 2011. And he owned property in Texas between 2016 and 2024. First in McGregor and then in Lorena. He also owns property in Arkansas.

He contributed $5,000 to SpaceX's political action committee in December. Campaign finance filings list his residence as Hawthorne, California, where SpaceX headquarters are located. Musk has announced he plans to move SpaceX headquarters to Texas.

Jenna Petrzelka, commissioner candidate 

Jenna Petrzelka, 39, is running for one of the two city commissioner positions.

According to LInkedIn, she started working at SpaceX in 2012 as an avionics process engineer in Hawthorne and her last position there was manager of operations engineering at Starbase, a position she held from August 2023 to July 2024.

Her husband, Joseph Edward Petrzelkakla is a SpaceX vice president, according to LinkedIn. Both obtained degrees from Iowa State University.

Together they have two children.

Her listed occupation on her candidate application is "philanthropist." She previously owned an Etsy store that touted donating its profits to charity and, in 2022, volunteered at Good Neighbor Settlement House, a Brownsville nonprofit that assists migrants and people experiencing homelessness.

Petrzelka’s declared on her candidate form that her permanent residence address is 41356 Tarpon Bend Drive in Brownsville, which is about 3 miles southwest of Boca Chica Village. While no structures are visible through Google Earth, a few gated homes have sprung up there as well as a street sign that reads “Mars-A-Lago Ave,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s Florida home and beach club.

Jordan Buss, commissioner

Jordan Buss, 40, is a senior director of Environmental Health and Safety for SpaceX. He has worked at SpaceX since 2023, according to LinkedIn. He previously worked for an energy company in the Houston area.

He studied at Purdue University from 2004 to 2008 and now lives at Boca Chica Village with his wife who is a master’s student studying industrial/organizational psychology at Purdue Global, according to his LinkedInN account.

In 2023, Buss made a $600 political contribution to the SpaceX PAC.

— Research and analysis provided by Sunlight Research Center’s Elizabeth Clemons, Seraphina Feron and Audrey Nielsen.

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

Disclosure: Google has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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