CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — A federal court hearing in Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo's lawsuit to block her removal proceedings will now be held in Corpus Christi — not Houston — at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division.
Guajardo filed suit in federal court in April. She is asking U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the city council's removal proceedings entirely.
Her attorneys make two main arguments. First, they contend the city charter's removal provision applies only to council members — not the mayor — and the proceedings are therefore unlawful. Second, they argue that council members who were present at the February 20 and April 23, 2024, meetings — where the alleged wrongdoing occurred — cannot serve as both witnesses and judges in the same proceeding.
The city has filed a motion to dismiss in federal court, arguing the case is premature because Guajardo has not yet gone through the city's own removal process.
Separately, Guajardo's attorney filed a recusal and disqualification motion directly with the city on May 5, asking council members who participated in the 2024 meetings to step aside. The motion specifically identifies Roland Barrera, Gil Hernandez, Sylvia Campos and Everett Roy as having been present at the February 20 and April 23, 2024 meetings. Because the charter requires five votes to remove the mayor, Guajardo's attorneys argue that disqualifying those members makes the required vote mathematically impossible.
The city council is scheduled to meet in a pretrial hearing Tuesday. According to a city agenda memo, the council may rule on motions — including the recusal motion — accept witness lists, issue subpoenas, consider appointing special counsel and set a date for the full removal hearing.
The removal proceedings stem from a citizen petition filed in August 2025 by resident Rachel Caballero, accusing Guajardo of misconduct tied to a 2024 council vote awarding $2 million in incentives to a downtown hotel developer. At issue is a PowerPoint presentation containing a Federal Emergency Management Agency website screenshot, with information concealed, that was presented to the City Council. The FBI, Texas Rangers and Corpus Christi Police Department investigated and filed no charges. Guajardo has denied all wrongdoing.
