An article in the March 13 edition of theHill Country Community Journal describes an email from George Baroody’s attorney addressed to Kerrville City Attorney Mike Hayes. In the letter, Austin-based lawyer Roger Gordon informed Mike Hayes that he has been retained by Baroody “in relation to the City of Kerrville’s official action arising from an alleged violation of the ‘ethics policy’…”.
The letter has been described as a threat of a forthcoming lawsuit against the City of Kerrville. According to our sources, the attorney representing Baroody is the same attorney that has represented former mayor Bonnie White in the past.
Mr. Baroody currently serves on City Council Place 2, and is seeking election to City Council Place 1 in the May 2019 election. This is the first time in memory that a council member, or a candidate seeking office to council, has been engaged in a potential lawsuit against the City of Kerrville. In other words, Mr. Baroody seeks to serve as an elected official to a government body that he is actively pursuing litigation against.
Mr. Baroody has been actively campaigning for City Council alongside Mario Garcia, a candidate for Place 2. Baroody and Garcia have made public appearances together to support one another’s campaigns, and Mr. Baroody has been campaigning door to door in recent days. Baroody’s opponent is Gary Cochrane, and Garcia’s opponent is Kim Clarkson.
In the newspaper article that hit newsstands today, author Tammy Prout describes the backstory that led to Mr. Baroody being stripped of Mayor Pro Tem status and being banned from all further discussions in the Lotus Peer Recover lawsuit. See our article titled, “Baroody stripped of ‘Mayor Pro Tem’ status” dated November 8, 2018, for a detailed account of those proceedings and actions.
To summarize those proceedings from fall of 2018, Mr. Baroody attempted to make contact with the plaintiff’s attorney despite advice that he should not do so. The plaintiff’s attorney contacted City Attorney Mike Hayes to inform him of the attempted contact, and council then stripped him of the Mayor Pro Tem status and barred him from any further discussions about the lawsuit.
According to the Journal’s article published Wednesday, Mr. Baroody did not respond to requests for comment by press time. We will provide updates to this developing story as they become available.
