A contentious debate over transparency erupted at Tuesday’s Corpus Christi City Council meeting as members clashed over whether to hear a police department presentation about developer Phillip Ramirez and the controversial $2 million Homewood Suites hotel incentive.
The council ultimately voted 5-3 with one abstention to postpone agenda item #31 until mid-February, but not before accusations flew about political motivations, selective investigations, and transparency failures.
“This is honestly ridiculous, and it is not being transparent,” argued Mayor Paulette Guajardo, calling the postponement contrary to promises of transparency. They insisted the public deserved to know immediately that a multi-agency criminal investigation had exonerated Ramirez…