A federal judge ruled Mayor Paulette Guajardo’s civil rights were not violated, allowing the city’s removal process to continue.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A federal judge has dismissed Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo’s lawsuit challenging the city’s effort to remove her from office, clearing the way for the city’s first-ever mayoral removal proceedings to move forward next week.

In a ruling issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge George Hanks Jr. denied Guajardo’s request for an injunction, finding that the city’s removal process does not violate her federal constitutional rights.



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Guajardo had argued she was denied due process and unfairly singled out through the city’s removal proceedings. While the judge rejected her federal claims, he declined to rule on her state law claims, leaving open the possibility they could be refiled in state court.

“He decided not to determine the claims under state law and to leave those for another day,” attorney Dr. John Chriss told 3NEWS. “What that leaves open for the mayor as an option is to refile those state law claims in state court.”

The ruling means the removal hearings scheduled for July 22 and 23 will move forward as planned. They are believed to be the first mayoral removal proceedings in Corpus Christi’s history.

Mayor Pro Tem Kaylynn Paxson will preside over the hearings. Paxson assumed the rotating position Tuesday and said the timing was purely coincidental.

“At the beginning of each term, the mayor sets the schedule, and the pro temship passes through the council members,” Paxson said. “When we took office, I had no way of knowing that at the time that it was my turn to serve as pro tem that we would be in all of this legal discussion.”

Paxson said the city’s actions have been guided by its charter and legal counsel.

“Our action so far, to our knowledge and to what we have asked legal counsel, has been in defense of the city charter,” she said.

While two days have been set aside for the proceedings, Paxson said she expects the hearings could move efficiently.

“I don’t see why we can’t be efficient,” she said. “We have two days scheduled. That’s pretty much about as much as I know until we get there.”

Chriss believes the legal battle could continue even after next week’s hearings, but he said voters may ultimately have the final say.

“I think the likelihood is that the voters will have a chance to finally resolve this before the courts do,” he said.

Guajardo has already told the court she intends to appeal Wednesday’s ruling and has announced she plans to seek a fourth and final term as mayor in the November election.

If Guajardo is unable to complete her current term, the Corpus Christi City Charter states the at-large council member who received the most votes in the 2024 election would serve as mayor until voters elect a successor in November. That would be Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn.