They should have been allowed to speak prior to the vote, citizens argued. Norris believes that Joven hired the firm to help him carry out a purge of city employees. are professional services for purposes of exemption from competitive bidding requirements., The contract calls for T2 to advise the interim city manager, provide organizational analysis, help guide public relations, and provide leadership training to city staff, along with other tasks. So that tells me that there had to be some kind of prior discussion among themselves. The only two right-wing council members who spoke to Texas Monthly, Swanner and Matta, denied discussing council business in private, which is illegal under Texas law. During the Odessa City Council meeting, community members stepped up to the podium one by one to tell their elected leaders that they were out of line and had acted without listening to their constituents. Also included on the agenda is an opportunity for members of the public to address the council before it takes a vote. Thats why nearly all local elections across the country are nonpartisan, meaning a candidates party affiliation is not printed on the ballot. On election day Swanner pulled 74.51% (1,140) of the vote compared to Turners 25.49% (390). We have had a group of people who not only sit on the [city council] dais but are behind the scenes as well, receiving contracts, she said. Odessa, Texas, mass shooting: Beto O'Rourke, Trump reacts - CNN Elections | Odessa, TX Odessa, Texas is a vibrant city located in the Permian Basin of West Texas. They believed in the campaign, they believed in the platform, and its been a community platform. State officials The Worst Its Been: RNs in the Largest Nurse Strike in Texas History Describe Their Workplace, Without Solar Power, This Texas Heat Wave Would Burn Much Worse, The Most Abusive Environment Ive Ever Worked In: Former Employees of a State Legislator Tell All, In the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial, GOP Megadonors Are Free to Tamper With the Jury. As of the 2020 United States census, there were 114,428 people, 41,942 households, and 28,218 families residing in the city. Show us with your support. In a statement, Joven defended the councils action without providing a reason for the two terminations. A local attorney is threatening more lawsuits as a new City Council, backed by the local Republican Party, gets to business. Compared to other nearby cities, Odessa has more democratic voters. Those five council members have just destroyed the work environment in city hall, Thompson told me. Horick said Odessa has become more politicized under Joven, who is the first Hispanic mayor of Odessa. During a town meeting this week, the Republican-backed majority on Odessas nonpartisan City Council voted as a bloc to terminate two city employees the city manager and city attorney without clear cause. Although Thompson has abstained from voting on matters related to his sons business during his two years on the council, the apparent conflict of interest has provided fodder for Odessa Headlines and other right-wing media. Odessa, Texas - Ballotpedia by Jayme Lozano Carver and Pooja Salhotra A Landslide Victory: City of Odessa Elects Joven, Matta, & Swanner A Plan to Bridge Odessa's Digital Divide Comes Down to Earth - Texas Monthly News & Politics A Plan to Bridge Odessa's Digital Divide Comes Down to Earth After a pilot program with Elon. If you wanted to run for an office, you had to visit with Bill. Congressman August Pfluger Representing the 11th District of Texas. [23] This plant was supposed to lead to the creation of 8,000 jobs in the area. Swanner and Matta, the only two right-wing council members who agreed to speak with me, denounced the Americans coverage of the city council. Under Crow, the party has become one of the most ideologically extreme in the state; it was the first county party to formally censure Governor Abbott over his July 2020 executive order requiring Texans to wear masks in most public places. Odessa is a boom-or-bust town, and, right now, the town is only just beginning to recover from a bust. Joven defended himself, saying that no money had been exchanged yet. Political Offices in Odessa, TX | superpages.com It is situated above the Permian Basin, a large sedimentary deposit that contains significant reserves of oil and natural gas. Disagreements over critical race theory, library books and history curriculums have turned schoolboards into political battlegrounds. Texas Tribune Festival Did party politics cost a Texas city manager and attorney their jobs? Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribunes daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Russell dismissed the citys traditional power elite as country club Republicans. He said, I think there are a lot of old Democrats who, when they figured out you cant run in Ector County on a Democratic ticket and get elected, they suddenly said, Im really Republican. Russell runs the influential website and Facebook page Odessa Headlines, which pushes out a steady stream of right-wing, antiestablishment news stories. Lets go build a sports complex. 3 talking about this. - The average income of a Odessa resident is $26,794 a year. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. After thorough . Odessa Meteor Crater, an impact crater 550 feet (170m) in diameter, is located southwest of the city. A stocky man in a plaid flannel jacket and a baseball cap, Crow complained that Rodriguez had not held any jury trials since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Joven and his allies say they are simply representing the values of their conservative constituents. How can that have happened overnight?. Odessa, city, seat (1891) of Ector county and also partly in Midland county, western Texas, U.S.It lies on the southern High Plains, just southwest of Midland.The site was presumably named in 1881 by Russian railroad construction workers who noted the similarity of the prairie region to their Odessa steppe homeland. Perhaps it goes without saying but producing quality journalism isn't cheap. Joven, Swanner, and Matta all attended in support of the initiative. From Odessas increasing budget to the possibility of mask mandates, business shutdowns, and restrictions on family gatherings - many voters throughout Odessa expressed their concern with the direction Odessa was going. During the meeting, the mayor refused to give Norris and other community members a chance to speak before the council ousted the two employees, City Manager Michael Marrero and City Attorney Natasha Brooks. But in November, Odessa elected two more right-wing council members, Texas STAAR test administrator Greg Connell and auto-dealership employee Chris Hanie, giving the Joven coalition a five-to-two majority. Theyre taking revenge on city employees that they have grievances with, such as Natasha Brooks and Michael Marrero, he told me. In a 6-1 vote, Mayor Javier Joven and council members Denise Swanner, Mark Matta, Gilbert Vasquez, Chris Hanie, and Greg Connell established Odessa as the 62nd city to "outlaw" abortion. People came into the City Council without doing their due diligence.. After interviewing three finalists for two hours each, the city council unanimously chose John Beckmeyer to replace Michael Marrero, who was fired in December. Mayor Javier Joven and four council members all of whom have been supported by the Ector County Republican Party voted to fire the two employees, City Manager Michael Marrero and City Attorney Natasha Brooks. Others are unsure of their future. | Will Ford This pattern was finally interrupted by Beto O'Rourke's 2018 Senate campaign. But thats never going to happen. Swanner told me that the factions opponents were making too much of the recent resignations. And Thompson said Joven was trying to change the councils form of government from a weak-mayor system, in which the city is largely run by the city manager, to a strong-mayor system. We live in the greatest city ever, she said, and my job is to help everybody else fall in love with it as much as I have., But Hallmark believes her centrist politicsin an interview with Texas Monthly, she described herself as fiscally Republican and socially Democraticsoon made her the target of an insurgent faction of right-wing city council members led by Mayor Javier Joven. High-school football is held at Ratliff Stadium, which was featured in the movie Friday Night Lights. Texon Santa Fe Depot honors the old west and its railroads. Norris said this lawsuit is the first of several he intends to file against the city of Odessa based on actions taken by Joven and his voting bloc. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/12/16/odessa-city-council-fired-employees-republican-party/. Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea.The city is also the administrative centre of the Odesa Raion and Odesa Oblast, as well as a multiethnic cultural centre.As of January 2021, Odesa's population was approximately 1,010,537. However, the local party saw the endorsement of Joven, Swanner, and Matta as an essential part of preserving Ector Countys conservative beliefs in values for years to come. [31], In the 2014 fiscal year, the Odessa government had $179.1 million in revenues, $146.3 million in expenditures, $454 million in total assets, and $203 million in total liabilities. They believed in change, they asked for change, and it starts tonight.. According to several supporters of Joven, Matta, and Swanner, the other candidates did not appear to be strong conservative candidates. Please let us get through the process and then we will hear citizen comments.. Odessa City Manager Michael Marrero and City Attorney Natasha Brooks were fired by the City Council on Dec. 13, 2022. Congressman August Pfluger Representing the 11th District of Texas. Horick said Odessa has become more politicized under Joven, who is the first Hispanic mayor of Odessa. Council picks GOP director as city manager

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