CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — A lawyer for Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo sent a letter Wednesday to city council members asking them to drop efforts to remove her from office. The lawyer says the process is legally broken and any vote to remove her would be thrown out in court — and he is warning the council he will go to court to stop it if they proceed.
Attorney John Flood wrote at least four council members who are expected to vote on removing the mayor were also present at the 2024 city council meetings where the alleged wrongdoing took place. He said, under Texas law, you cannot be both a witness to something and the judge deciding the case.
Those council members include Gil Hernandez, Sylvia Campos, Roland Barrera, and Everett Roy.
The city charter requires five votes to remove the mayor. If four members are disqualified, five votes are impossible. Flood says that makes any removal vote void, meaning it would have no legal effect.
"The hearing would be pointless," Flood wrote.
Flood's letter contains two specific legal warnings.
First, he warns that if the council tries to suspend the mayor before any hearing takes place, he will go to court immediately to block it. Suspending an elected official without first giving them a hearing violates their constitutional rights under both the U.S. and Texas Constitutions, Flood argues. That would trigger an immediate lawsuit.
Second, he warns that even if the council proceeds to a full removal hearing, that process is also legally blocked — because four disqualified members make the required five-vote threshold unreachable. Any vote taken under those conditions, Flood writes, could be thrown out by a court as "arbitrary and capricious" — a legal standard the Texas Supreme Court has specifically said is grounds for setting aside such a decision.
Why the mayor is facing removal
The dispute stems from a 2024 city council vote to give Corpus Christi hotel developers $2 million in taxpayer money. A presentation used to support that decision included a doctored image from a federal flood map website. That alteration was investigated by the FBI, Texas Rangers and Corpus Christi Police Department. No charges were filed.
Residents who want the mayor removed argue she knew about the altered document and pushed the project forward anyway. They filed formal articles of impeachment in March listing four accusations: that she aided a fraud, committed perjury, leaked confidential information and ordered the deletion of public records.
What the council votes on Tuesday
The April 14 meeting will focus on procedural matters, including whether to certify the articles of impeachment, set deadlines and establish rules for evidence and witness testimony. The council could also vote on scheduling a pretrial hearing for May 19.
Certifying the articles means the council officially accepts them and agrees to move forward with a formal process. No final decision on removing the mayor is expected Tuesday. The full process, according to City Attorney Miles Risley, could take around two months.
What other options exist
Flood's letter outlines five ways the city's rules allow for addressing alleged wrongdoing by an elected official. He argues not all of them are still open:
Ethics Commission: The city created its Ethics Commission specifically as an alternative to removal proceedings. But complaints must be filed within six months of the event in question. Because petitioners waited more than a year and a half after the 2024 council meetings, Flood says this option is no longer available.
Section 11 removal hearing: This is the process currently being pursued. Flood argues it is legally blocked because four council members are disqualified as witnesses, making the required five votes unreachable.
Recall election: Residents could gather petition signatures from 10% of registered voters to force a recall election. However, the city charter bars a recall election within six months of a regular city council election.
District court proceeding: The matter could be referred to district court through a legal process called a quo warranto proceeding. This could be filed by the county attorney, the district attorney or the state attorney general. Unlike the council process, this would put the case before a judge and jury who were not witnesses to the 2024 meetings.
November 2026 city elections: Voters will have the opportunity to weigh in at the regular city council election, now roughly six months away. Flood identifies this as the other option that clearly remains open.
Flood says he will attend Tuesday's meeting to answer questions.
KRIS 6 News has reached out to the City of Corpus Christi for comment, this story will be updated once a response is received.
