Mayor Paulette Guajardo faces allegations of misconduct over a 2024 hotel development project.
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If you find an error, emailThe Corpus Christi City Council voted on Tuesday to launch a removal hearing for Mayor Paulette Guajardo over allegations of misconduct., according to city leaders. But the controversy surrounding the mayor stems from a hotel development project, not the city’s management of its water supply. After a tense debate, council members voted 5-3 to begin a trial to decide whether to eject Guajardo, who has been in office since 2021. A citizen petition to remove Guajardo that precipitated the council vote includes allegations that she put an item on the council’s agenda to award $2 million in tax incentives to a developer seeking to build a Homewood Suites in Corpus Christi, and that a PowerPoint presentation about the project included a slide showing a FEMA flood map that had been altered. Guajardo is accused of being aware that the presentation that led them to choose Elevate QOF LLC as the developer was altered. Ajit David, a competing hotel developer who wasn’t selected for the project, filed a lawsuit against the city alleging that the council approved the tax incentives based on an “ongoing false narrative” about the competing proposal.that the allegations against her are without merit. The Corpus Christi Police Department conducted an investigation and decided not to pursue a criminal case. After the council discusses and decides the hearing’s procedures on April 14, they will move forward with adopting articles of impeachment for the mayor. For the removal hearing, city council members will “be essentially the judge and jury,” City Attorney Miles Risley said, and it would take a majority vote to oust Guajardo.The process, according to Risley, could take around two months. Council member Mark Scott, who voted against moving forward with the removal process, said the council should be focusing on a more pressing issue: the city’s imperiled water supply. “What I get back from the community is, ‘Hey, are you guys rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?’” he said. “This is terrible timing.” Council member Kaylynn Paxson said she voted in favor of holding a removal hearing because “we have to give that process a fair run … We have to let both sides come before us.” Council member Roland Barrera, who voted against the measure, said he worries that the high-profile proceedings will discourage developers from considering doing business in Corpus Christi in the future. “I would argue that this type of behavior, and the fact that we placate this kind of behavior, it tells developers, ‘Don’t come to Corpus Christi, don’t come to downtown,’” Barrera said.Texans need the truth. Help us report it. Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?Texans need the truth. Help us report it. Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?Colleen DeGuzman is a general assignments reporter. In addition to covering a broad range of topics, she focuses on immigration developments in the state. Before joining the newsroom, Colleen was an enterprise...
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