Attorneys for Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo have filed a motion against her upcoming impeachment trial.
The motion, filed ahead of Monday’s pretrial hearing, requested five City Council members to recuse from the removal proceedings or be disqualified.
This means the council members – Carolyn Vaughn, Gil Hernandez, Sylvia Campos, Kaylynn Paxson and Eric Cantu – who voted to advance the impeachment cannot serve as jurors, according to the motion.
Last month, council members voted to move forward with allegations from a petition accusing the mayor of misconduct; which began with a 2024 City Council vote to approve a $2 million taxpayer-funded incentive for a downtown hotel project.
According to the motion, those same council members voted on agenda items tied to the impeachment allegations, thus making them witnesses. Allowing the council members to serve as jurors would violate Guajardo's due process rights.
