A federal judge is expected to rule on a preliminary injunction related to removal proceedings against Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo — however, the timeframe in which that may occur is unclear.
U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. noted before the end of a May 18 hearing on Guajardo’s request that he would issue a ruling as soon as possible, but that he is presiding over an ongoing criminal trial.
It would be unlikely he would be able to rule on the temporary injunction prior to the council’s meeting May 19, Hanks indicated.
May 19 is when a pretrial hearing is scheduled for the removal proceeding. It will be held as part of the regularly scheduled City Council meeting.
It’s unclear what direction the meeting may take if the judge’s ruling is pending.
Three parties were represented as part of the May 18 preliminary injunction hearing: attorneys representing Guajardo, the city of Corpus Christi and five council members individually named as defendants in the federal lawsuit.
The council members named as defendants are those who had voted to move forward with the proceedings: Carolyn Vaughn, Gil Hernandez, Sylvia Campos, Kaylynn Paxson and Eric Cantu.
Guajardo faces a removal hearing after the submission of a petition, signed by six registered voters.
It accuses her of misconduct or malfeasance.
The documents assert that Guajardo had been aware in 2024 of allegations that hotel developers seeking a tax incentive had altered a screenshot shown in a presentation, but put an item on an agenda for the council to approve the funding and had also voted to support it.
Articles of impeachment filed against Guajardo expanded on the petition, accusing the mayor of perjuring herself during a deposition in a lawsuit related to the incentive award.
She has denied allegations.
Two investigations into the matter — one by law enforcement and the other by an outside attorney — concluded no criminal wrongdoing.
However, ethical issues were not explored as part of those inquiries, said some of the council members who voted to advance removal proceedings.
The arguments
Guajardo’s federal case was filed April 13, the day before the City Council’s consideration of its next steps toward a removal hearing.
One of the actions the council could have taken was suspending the mayor, according to city documents.
Hanks signed a temporary restraining order barring the council from suspending Guajardo in its April 14 meeting.
The council did not pursue suspending Guajardo but voted to set a pretrial hearing for May 19.
The temporary restraining order expired April 27.
The mayor’s attorneys in filings have argued that the removal process poses due process issues, which city officials have denied through attorney Hal George.
Among those issues is the possibility of council members being witnesses in the case, according to documents filed by Guajardo’s attorneys.
Four council members who had been present for the votes in 2024 would be witnesses in the removal hearing, while also serving as the judge and jurors who would decide whether Guajardo keeps office, according to filings.
The four sitting council members who were also on the council when the tax incentives were considered are Campos, Hernandez, Everett Roy and Roland Barrera.
“The arbiter cannot determine whether Mayor Guajardo knowingly engaged in misleading the council members without examining what the Council Members Barrera, Roy, Campos and Hernandez themselves understood, believed, discussed, relied upon, and observed during the legislative process,” states a memo supporting the injunction, filed by Guajardo’s attorneys May 14.
George and Stephen McMains, in similar filings in federal court, have cited what is known as “the Rule of Necessity” — essentially, in this case, meaning that only the council is permitted to decide on removal.
Disqualification of council members who may be called as witnesses “fails because, as a matter of law, Council Members are immune from testifying at all,” George wrote in his May 18 filing.
The document raises again the application of the Rule of Necessity, adding that Guajardo “should not be allowed to game the system by calling City Council Members as witnesses and thereby claim the process is spoiled.”
Guajardo’s attorneys have argued the Rule of Necessity does not apply to witnesses.
There is also disagreement over whether the mayor is subject to removal.
Attorneys on both sides have cited phrasing in different portions of the City Charter to support that she either is or is not. Among those questions is whether the mayor is considered a council member.
Among the questions raised for request of a preliminary injunction is whether the case is “ripe” — essentially whether potentially problematic action has actually occurred or if the concerns hinge on speculation, since the removal proceedings haven’t unfolded.
The pretrial hearing
Records filed for consideration in the City Council’s pretrial hearing show a series of motions, as well as witness lists.
The mayor’s witness list includes roughly 60 names, such as past and present city staff; past and present council members; Elevate QOF LLC, the developers of the hotel; and U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, Texas Rangers and Corpus Christi Police Department personnel.
The petitioners’ list, filed by attorney Doug Allison, numbers 20 and shows many of the same witnesses who would be called by Guajardo’s attorneys, including the district attorney’s office.
Both sides could decide whether or not to call a witness on their list or add a witness not currently featured.
Allison’s filing show requests for summonses of Guajardo’s text messages, as well as the text messages of Elevate QOF LLC developers, for a time window from December 2023 through April 2024.
Kirsten Crow covers city government and water news. Have a story idea? Contact her at kirsten.crow@caller.com.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Judge’s preliminary injunction ruling pending in mayor’s removal case
Reporting by Kirsten Crow, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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