A simmering political and legal fight at Corpus Christi City Hall is now turning into an ethics battle.
Ethics complaints have been filed against three Corpus Christi city council members connected to the ongoing Homewood Suites controversy. The complaints accuse the council members of voting on matters involving a hotel developer who contributed to their political campaigns.
Sondra Meyer, who filed the complaints, says she began investigating the Homewood Suites dispute last September. The same case has also become central to attempts by some council members seeking to remove the mayor from office.
The ethics complaints target Council members Gil Hernandez, Kaylynn Paxson and Eric Cantu.
Meyer argues city ethics rules prohibit council members from participating in business involving someone who donated to their most recent campaign.
The complaints specifically allege the council members accepted campaign donations from Ajit David, one of the rival hotel developers involved in the Homewood Suites dispute, and later voted on matters tied to David’s fraud claims.
Councilman Eric Cantu defended his actions and said he believes the same standards should apply across City Hall.
“There’s no difference between me and the mayor,” Cantu said. “The mayor received tens of thousands of dollars from the downtown hotel hoteliers that’s involved in this lawsuit also and she’s voting on stuff and she’s doing stuff.”
Cantu also said his understanding of the rules is that council members are not required to recuse themselves unless donations exceed $2,700.
Meyer disputes that interpretation and says the $2,700 threshold only applies in cases involving appointments to boards or commissions.
Councilman Roland Barrera says the controversy is also raising broader concerns about how items make it onto the City Council agenda.
Barrera noted that only three council members are needed to place an item on the agenda, which he says has led to new scrutiny about ethics and political influence at City Hall.
“What they’re doing is moving forward legislation that favors those who contribute to them,” Barrera said.
Meyer says the purpose of filing the complaints is to push for greater accountability and restore public trust in city government.
We contacted Kaylynn Paxson and Gil Hernandez for comment, but as of news time they had not responded.