City of Corpus Christi Special City Council Meeting - January 14, 2025

This was a Special City Council meeting convened on January 14, 2025, for the ceremonial purpose of swearing in the newly elected Mayor and City Council. Outgoing Mayor Paulette Guajardo called the meeting to order. The meeting featured a Presentation of Colors by the Veterans Band Color Guard, an Invocation by Pastor Bil Cornelius, and a Swearing-in Ceremony conducted by Municipal Court Judge Julianna Rivera. Following the ceremony, Mayor Mary Walherter (as stated in the meeting transcript) took over the meeting, and each council member and the mayor delivered brief remarks on their priorities and vision.

Swearing-in Ceremony

• Municipal Court Judge Julianna Rivera administered the Oath of Office to the newly elected Mayor and Council Members. Judge Rivera praised the officials for their willingness to serve the community.
• Mayor Walherter read a letter from Admiral Brofe of the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA), highlighting the strong partnership between the Navy and Corpus Christi. The letter noted that in 2024, CNATRA aircraft logged over a quarter of the Department of the Navy's total flight hours.

Council Member Speeches (Priorities and Positions)

• Councilmember Vaughn (re-elected): Reiterated her commitment to fighting high taxes and high utility bills, improving infrastructure like potholes, supporting public safety, and maintaining transparency. She called on every citizen in Corpus Christi to help make solutions happen.
• Councilmember Hernandez (re-elected): Stated he will hold the council accountable to ensuring a "fair playing ground" for people to compete equally. He shared his personal pre-meeting prayer asking for "the courage of David, the wisdom of Solomon, and the persistence of Paul."
• Councilmember Campos (re-elected): Expressed pride in running a grassroots campaign. Highlighted her top priorities: providing affordable, safe drinking water that does not harm the environment or burden working people; expanding sidewalks in District 2; and attracting major retail ("District 2 is open for business. I'm calling out Costco, Trader Joe's."). She also called for raising the council salary, stating the current $6,000 per year is "ridiculous."
• Councilmember Bonnet (elected to an At-Large seat): Embraced his past electoral losses as learning experiences. Expressed excitement about working on global issues like water and economic development. Thanked city staff, the city manager, and the city secretary for their professionalism.
• Councilmember Roy (re-elected): Focused on economic stability and job creation. Expressed the need to look at all sources of water, including wells and groundwater projects. Committed to supporting the police and fire departments. Highlighted the diversity of District 1.
• Councilmember Paxson (elected to an At-Large seat): Emphasized her campaign theme of "together" and the 65% voter support in her district. Stated that public service is a true calling. Called on the council to work together as allies and keep the community first.
• Councilmember Scott (elected to an At-Large seat): Identified water as his primary issue, supporting the Inner Harbor project, Harbor Island, wells, and getting the Mary Rhodes pipeline up and running. Expressed concern over the elimination of the street user fee and suggested bringing it back. Called for a "hyper-incentivized" plan to convert vacant commercial buildings downtown into residential units. Advised the council not to let "the perfect get in the way of the doable" and to look for public policy answers over political ones.
• Councilmember Gunthew (elected for District 3): Shared a personal story of losing his mother at 16 and dropping out of school in the 6th grade to care for her, stating he is "living proof that anything is possible." His key commitments included safer streets with more police officers and firefighters, clean and reliable water, and making Corpus Christi a no-kill city for animals.

Inaugural Mayor's Speech

• Mayor Walherter began by acknowledging and offering prayers for the Corpus Christi firefighters deployed to Los Angeles to help battle devastating wildfires.
• Thanked God, her family, voters, City Manager Peter Zanoni, department heads, and all city staff, calling them "the backbone of this city."
• Defined the council's charge as practicing "servant leadership": listening to the community, understanding its needs, and taking deliberate, thoughtful action to create bold and positive change as a unified body.
• Outlined broad priorities including strengthening and protecting neighborhoods, helping senior citizens, modernizing infrastructure, and supporting public safety to enhance the quality of life for every resident.
• Adjourned the meeting and invited attendees to the lobby for light refreshments.

Key Outcomes

• The newly elected Mayor and City Council were officially sworn in for their respective terms.
• The meeting was purely ceremonial; no legislative or business actions were taken.
• The meeting was adjourned following the swearing-in and speeches.