Galveston City Council on Thursday voted 4-3, with Cornelia Harris Banks, Elizabeth Beeton and Chris Gonzales opposed, to name Rusty Legg Mayor Pro Tem. Listen
“The mayor is elected by the city of Galveston and the mayor pro tem is actually elected by the fellow members that serve on city council, so actually it really is an honor to be the pro tem,” said Terrilyn Tarlton, who brought the issue to the table and made the motion to appoint Legg. “I think it’s very important since we don’t have an acting one at this time that we do appoint one that we feel would best represent all the council members that are sitting up here and that will conduct the meetings in the way that we feel should be conducted. And I believe that Rusty Legg has shown that.”
Banks, who served as mayor pro tem on a previous city council, said she preferred to wait until after the runoff election on June 23 when the mayor’s race and the election for City Council District 4 are decided.
Beeton agreed that she preferred to wait, but also said that she wanted the position.
“I would like to be the mayor pro tem,” Beeton said. “This is my third term. I’ve served for four years. I would like to learn how to run meetings and have some experience with that.”
Another item included on the city council agenda was a discussion of the Galveston Housing Authority. Listen
“Numerous people have been calling us,” Tarlton said. “Ex-employees, current employees, constituents, tenants, my insurance (clients) that live in these developments, are asking to bring forth some complaints. Some employees want to come under the whistle blower (law). I do understand that the GHA is a government entity and that the city council has no authority over this government.”
City Attorney Dottie Palumbo and Assistant City Attorney Roberta Cross reviewed the procedures for people to make complaints to the appropriate entities.
“We have had also complaints to the city secretary and our office about electioneering and different things that going are on,” Palumbo said.
“Voters can file election complaints with the Secretary of State’s Office,” Cross said, noting that forms for the complaint are on the Secretary of State’s website.
“The Galveston district attorney would also take a complaint of that magnitude,” Palumbo said. “We’ve also heard that there might be some issues with Galveston Housing Authority and misappropriation of funds or misuse of funds. That’s also where the Galveston district attorney’s office would take a complaint and would conduct an investigation.”
Tarlton suggested that the city council will want to review the issues related to the Galveston Housing Authority at the first meeting after the runoff election.
The city council voted unanimously to release most of the reports by city staff concerning the recent city council investigation of the traffic department and other issues. Listen
“The city attorney’s office had redacted the reports on the investigation by council,” Beeton said. “There were some memos written by, I think, the city auditor, the city attorney and the city manager.”
Reports: City Attorney Report City Auditor Report Outside Employment Report
The city council voted unanimously to recommend the appointment of Don Mafrige to the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Board of Directors as a First Tier Coastal County Resident Member.
All other items on the city council agenda were approved unanimously, with all members present. Agenda