(This story was updated to add more information.)
Dates for the removal hearing of Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo have been set for July 22 and 23, with additional dates following if needed.
Scheduling of the upcoming proceedings was part of the City Council’s June 2 pretrial hearing, covering several motions by John Flood, Guajardo’s attorney, and Doug Allison, attorney for the petitioners of the removal of the mayor and for Ajit David, a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the city and a signer of the articles of impeachment.
Rulings in the pretrial hearing were determined by a six-member panel: City Council members Gil Hernandez, Sylvia Campos, Mark Scott, Kaylynn Paxson, Eric Cantu and Carolyn Vaughn, who is also serving as the presiding officer.
Guajardo cannot participate on the City Council tribunal — the composition being judges and jurors of the removal hearing — and City Councilmen Roland Barrera and Everett Roy are abstaining.
The removal hearing is tied to events surrounding the controversial 2024 award of $2 million in tax incentives to spur development of a Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel.
The process was first put into motion when a petition signed by six registered voters was filed in August, with public discussions by the City Council picked up about seven months later.
The document accuses Guajardo of misconduct or malfeasance related to the granting of the tax incentives.
Petitioners assert that she was aware of allegations that hotel developers had used an altered screenshot in a presentation requesting the money, but had put an item for the funding on an agenda for council consideration.
Articles of impeachment, filed by lead petitioner Rachel Caballero in March, further allege the mayor had perjured herself during a deposition taken as part of a lawsuit filed by David, a competing hotelier, related to the tax incentives.
Guajardo has all denied allegations of wrongdoing.
A motion filed by Flood — denied by the council — had requested that sitting council members who participated in the 2024 deliberations of the tax incentives either recuse themselves or be disqualified from the tribunal that will decide the outcome of the removal hearing.
Had it been approved, the motion would have applied to Roy, Barrera, Hernandez and Campos.
Barrera and Roy had previously announced they would abstain.
Flood has argued in documents that it is problematic for the four council members to serve on the tribunal because they are witnesses in the case.
That is part of the reason the proceedings are void, he asserted June 2.
“Simply put, fundamental fairness requires that witnesses to disputed facts underlying the impeachment cannot also serve as the tribunal deciding those same facts,” he said. “It is a simple concept and it renders this proceeding unlawful.”
Flood and Allison disagreed on whether an opinion penned by a federal judge had addressed similar arguments made in Guajardo’s earlier request for a preliminary injunction.
The judge had denied granting the mayor’s request.
Flood has said the judge did not address the issue in the order, while Allison has said the judge did and that the argument was rejected.
“What (Flood) is asking you to do is, ‘Don’t even get to the corruption issues, don’t even get to the malfeasance issues, don’t even get to the issues of incompetence or improper or misconduct,’” Allison said. “‘Stop now before you hear any evidence’ is what he’s asking you to do, and that’s the exact opposite of what the charter asks you to do.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Kirsten Crow covers city government and water news. Have a story idea? Contact her at kirsten.crow@caller.com.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Dates set for removal hearing of Corpus Christi Mayor Guajardo
Reporting by Kirsten Crow, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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