At the very first City Council meeting of the City of Sandy Oaks, Art Martinez de Vara sat at the table of the City Council members with his own official paper nameplate that showed his position as City Attorney.
The Council had never hired an attorney and the position of City Attorney had never been created.
Cathleen Recio, who recently lost a bid for an Alderman position, demanded of the City Council that Martinez de Vara not sit at table with the Council and join the crowd. He obliged.
Later in the meeting, the Council made everyone leave the clubhouse so that the Council could meet behind closed doors to discuss the creation of the attorney position and the official hiring of Martinez de Vara.
Martinez de Vara was the legal adviser to the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks and on May 27, 2014, Jim Clement said that Martinez de Vara was on retainer for the Waterwood Park Property Owner’s Association.
Martinez de Vara is also the legal adviser for the Sandy Oaks Political Action Committee (SOPAC). His Von Ormy Political Action Committee was the largest campaign contributor to SOPAC. Of the 5 Aldermen on the City Council, 3 of them are SOPAC members, including Earnest Gay, Joel Ortega, and Douglas Tomasini.
Before the election of the City Council, Martinez de Vara created a newspaper called the Sandy Oaks Chronicle. The newspaper had a two page “voter’s guide” that only included SOPAC candidates and lied about inviting the other candidates to participate.
Martinez de Vara is also the current Mayor of Von Ormy, Texas.
After people were allowed to reenter the Waterwood clubhouse, the Council created the position of City Attorney and then approved Martinez de Vara for the position for 60 days. He would be considered for City Attorney afterward upon the condition that other applicants applied for the position.
The cost of hiring Martinez de Vara was not announced.
Featured Image Courtesy of Walker Report
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