Art Martinez de Vara is the Mayor of Von Ormy, Texas.  He led the incorporation process in Von Ormy, a community that has existed since the 1880’s.  He was approached by the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks (CISO) around 2012 to help with the incorporation process in the Waterwood area.

Art Martinez de Vara was the legal guide for CISO through the incorporation process.  After the City of San Antonio denied CISO’s 9 mile and 4 mile requests, they offered CISO 2.4 square miles.  Martinez de Vara told Texas Public Radio that to incorporate at that size would make taxes “astronomically high.”  He later helped CISO apply for the vote to incorporate.

Art Martinez de Vara was the primary speaker at a meeting CISO hosted on April 24, 2014 that was to inform the community about the upcoming vote to incorporate where early voting began on the 28th of April.  AT The same meeting CISO told the community that it would announce the deadline for people to apply to run for office.  CISO never did, however.

On May 27, 2014, it was said by Jim Clement, the  President of the Waterwood Park Property Owner’s Association, that Art Martinez de Vara was on retainer for the WPPOA, although he had been so for some time.

Not only is Art Martinez de Vara on retainer for the POA and the adviser to CISO, but he is also the legal adviser to the Sandy Oaks Political Action Committee (SOPAC), which is located in Von Ormy.  His PAC, the Von Ormy Political Action Committee, contributed $1,500 to SOPAC during the 2014 city council election making it the largest contributor.

During the 2014 election Art Martinez de Vara created a newspaper called the “Sandy Oaks Chronicle.”  It featured a 2 page “voters guide” that started off with saying “All candidates were invited to participate in this voter’s guide, those who submitted content are listed below.”  However, only SOPAC candidates were listed.  Cathleen Recio, David Tremblay, and Micki Ball were never contacted by anyone regarding the Sandy Oaks Chronicle until they were asked why they were not included.  Of the 5 SOPAC candidates running for alderman, 3 won.

August 16, 2014 – At the first City Council meeting, Art Martinez de Vara is given the position of city attorney before the meeting ever started.  Not only does he join the Council members at table, but he is also given an official paper placard with his name and job title.  Cathleen Recio, who ran for alderman but lost, demands that Martinez de Vara step down and join the audience, which he does.

The City Council appoints Martinez de Vara as city attorney on the condition that his contract last for 60 days and that 2 other candidates for the position be considered.  As of mid-February 2015, Art Martinez de Vara is still acting attorney of the City of Sandy Oaks.  And Mayor of Von Ormy.  And adviser to SOPAC.  And the attorney to the WPPOA.

August 16, 2014 – As City Attorney, Martinez de Vara allows the Sandy Oaks City Council to create an election for an illegal amount of sales taxes.

August, 2014 – Martinez de Vara files paperwork with the Bexar County Elections Department for the November ballot.  However, 1 of the propositions is changed and is not what the City Council had originally approved.

September 18, 2014 – In the city’s first budget hearing, Mayor Clement admits that Martinez de Vara created the budget.  The budget taxes the community retroactively and allocates $36,000 to Martinez de Vara.  As Mayor of Von Ormy, Martinez de Vara only allocates $12,000 to his own city attorney.

To see all articles that involved Art Martinez de Vara, click here.

Emmanuel Delfin was the Chief Editor of the Von Ormy Star and Sandy Oaks Chronicle, 2 different newspapers owned by Art Martinez de Vara.  The Sandy Oaks Chronicle first came out in August 2014, and only produced 3 papers before ending in late November of the same year.  According to a gas station attendant in Von Ormy where the Star was distributed, the newspaper only came out close to November elections.

Click here to read more about the Sandy Oaks Chronicle controversy.

Pedro Orduno is the Chairman of the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks and is one of the key people responsible for the creation of the City of Sandy Oaks.

On July 8, 2014, Orduno said he had lived in the Waterwood area for 18 years.  He teaches middle school Social Studies for SAISD.

Incorporation

In 2012 Pedro Orduno, along with Jim Clement, created the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks (CISO).  As Chair of the Committee, Orduno lead the effort for the Waterwood area to incorporate as a new city.

Originally, CISO requested San Antonio to release 9 square miles of its ETJ.  When San Antonio declined, CISO requested 4 square miles and San Antonio eventually offered 2.4 square miles.  Pedro Orduno told the Express News on November 21, 2013 that incorporating at 2.4 would not be economically viable.  He is directly quoted as saying “We’re no fools. We need a commercial tax base.”

On January 27, 2014, Pedro Orduno and CISO submitted paperwork with Bexar County to hold a vote for Incorporation.

On April 24, 2014, Pedro Orduno and CISO held an information meeting regarding the vote for incorporation (early voting for incorporation started April 28th).  At this meeting, CISO was directly asked if they would be announcing the deadline for people to apply to run for city council positions, to which the Committee confirmed that it would.

2014 Politics

On May 27, 2014, Pedro Orduno and Jim Clement held what was to be a secret meeting at the Waterwood clubhouse.  The purpose of the meeting was for new members of the Sandy Oaks Political Action Committee (SOPAC) to meet one another.  CISO had formed SOPAC on February 14, 2014.  New members included Joel Ortega, Earnest Gay, Douglas Tomasini, and Dale Burmaster.

The deadline for people to run for the new City Council of Sandy Oaks passed June 26,  without mention to the community.  Pedro Orduno did, however, submit paperwork to run for an Alderman position.

Of the 3 town meetings organized for citizens to meet candidates, Pedro Orduno only went to the first.  At the “Meet the Candidates” meeting on July 8, 2014, Orduno said he had lived in the Waterwood community for 18 years.  He said he had been Vice President of the Waterwood Park Property Owner’s Association and wanted to focus on police, animal control, and trash collection.

Pedro Orduno filed an ethics complaint against Cathleen Recio on July 28, 2014 for not having proper campaign signage.  Later that night he finally took down his “Vote to Incorporate signs” that were up illegally.

On August 9, 2014 Pedro Orduno lost the election for alderman by 2 votes.

Since 2014 Elections

January 15, 2015 – Pedro Orduno and the board of the Waterwood Park Property Owner’s Association held a meeting at the Waterwood clubhouse.  The purpose of the meeting was for property owners to vote to amend the current 7 page By-Laws with a new 32 page set of By Laws.  Property owners were told that if they did not participate then their absence would be counted as a “yes” vote.  The ballot, however, did not have a certain legal paragraph on it required by Texas state law and had the date wrong by a full year.  Against Pedro Orduno’s wishes, the vote was postponed.

To see articles that involve Pedro Orduno click here.

David Tremblay was first introduced to the City of Sandy Oaks in a public way on July 14, 2014, at the 2nd of 3 town meetings for people to meet the candidates running for city council.   He did not attend the first meeting on July8th.

Of the 9 people who ran for city council in 2014, David Tremblay is the only one who was not a Waterwood resident.

On August 9, 2014 David Tremblay won the first election for 1 of the 5 aldermen positions on the city council.  Later, when aldermen were randomly assigned places and terms, he was assigned Alderman Place 1 with a 1 year term.

Notable Actions as Alderman

August 16, 2014 – David Tremblay voted to approve the hiring of Art Martinez de Vara as city attorney.  Martinez de Vara, at the time, was also mayor of Von Ormy, and the legal adviser to CISO, SOPAC, and the WPPOA.

Tremblay approved a vote for the November 2014 election for an illegal amount of sales taxes.

September 18, 2014 – During the first city budget hearing, David Tremblay accidentally voted in favor of a retroactive 30 cent tax thinking it was for the next year and not the current.  The vote was redone moments later.  When Mayor Clement admitted that the budget was created by the city attorney, Art Martinez de Vara, and that the attorney had budgeted $36,000 for himself, David Tremblay did nothing.

To see articles that involve David Tremblay click here.

Micki Ball was first introduced to the City of Sandy Oaks in a public way on July 8, 2014, at a “Meet the Candidates” meeting set up by the Sandy Oaks Political Action Committee (SOPAC) where Ball was presented as one of the candidates running for an alderman (city council) position.  She was known to have first expressed her interest in the new city government when she crashed what was supposed to be a secret meeting for SOPAC on May 27, 2014, where the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the upcoming election.

At the “Meet the Candidates” meeting Micki Ball said she had lived in the Waterwood community for 2 years.  In her 2014 Platform that she submitted to SandyOaksNews.com, she stressed that the primary issue in the area was communication.

Of the three town-hall meetings that the City of Sandy Oaks/Waterwood held before the first election, Micki Ball was one of the few candidates who attended all 3 meetings.  The second was held on July 14, 2014, where she addressed upset residents who expressed outrage at incorporation.  At the third Town-Hall on July 22, 2014, where candidates stood behind tables with their names displayed for the public, Micki Ball was one of the only 3 who showed up.

On August 9, 2014 Micki Ball won the first election for 1 of the 5 aldermen positions on the city council.  Later, when aldermen were randomly assigned places and terms, she was assigned Alderman Place 4 with a 2 year term.

Notable Actions as Alderman

August 16, 2014 – Micki Ball voted to approve the hiring of Art Martinez de Vara as city attorney.  Martinez de Vara, at the time, was also mayor of Von Ormy, and the legal adviser to CISO, SOPAC, and the WPPOA

September 18, 2014 – During the first city budget hearing, Micki Ball accidentally voted in favor of a retroactive 30 cent tax thinking it was for the next year and not the current.  The vote was redone moments later.  When Mayor Clement admitted that the budget was created by the city attorney, Art Martinez de Vara, and that the attorney had budgeted $36,000 for himself, Micki Ball did nothing.

October 6, 2014 – Special meeting called to discuss holdover-services with Bexar County.  Alderman Micki Ball takes the responsibility of a committee.

December 11, 2014 – Micki Ball was told during the City Council meeting on December 11, 2014 that members of the community received letters from the owner of the property in which the council met, stating that they were legally banned from accessing the property.  Ball continued to participate in council meetings anyway, in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act.

2015

January 2015 -In late December 2015/early January 2014, Jim Clement, as WPPOA president, mailed out letters to property owners in the Waterwood subdivision.  The letters announced a vote for an amendment to the WPPOA By-Laws.  The original and current By-Laws were 7 pages long and the “amendment” was 32 pages long.  The letter included an illegal ballot that was missing a paragraph required by Texas law and also had the date for people’s signature listed as 2014 instead of 2015.  If people did not participate in the vote, the letter stated that their absence would be counted as a “Yes” vote.  Mail-in ballots were to be sent to Clement’s home.

As an alderman and member of the city council, Micki Ball did nothing to prevent Clement from trying to force the illegal vote.

February 12, 2015 – Micki Ball received an official Open Records Request asking for details on how much the city owed, how far the city was in debt, and what expenses the city had.  Ball ignored the request, in violation of the Public Information Act, a state law that promotes honest and open government.

February 26, 2015 – In August of 2014 the city council created an election for an illegal amount of sales tax.  Someone also secretly changed one of the tax rates that the democratically elected city council decided on before submitting the paperwork to Bexar county elections officials to be on the ballot.  At a special council meeting on February 26, 2015 to fix the amount of illegal taxes, Micki Ball stated “I don’t know who made the change, it doesn’t matter.”

At the same meeting, Micki Ball voted to disregard what voters chose in sales taxes instead of having a new election.

March 21, 2015 – Micki Ball violated the Texas Open Meetings Act by participating in an illegal closed/executive session with the city council in which no reason for the closed session was given.

To see articles that involve Micki Ball click here.

Douglas Tomasini was first introduced to the City of Sandy Oaks in a public way on July 8, 2014, at a “Meet the Candidates” meeting set up by the Sandy Oaks Political Action Committee (SOPAC) where Tomasini was presented as one of the candidates running for an alderman (city council) position.  He was known to have announced his intention to run as early as May 27, 2014 where he attended a private SOPAC meeting in the Waterwood Park clubhouse.

At the “Meet the Candidates” meeting Douglas Tomasini said he had lived in the Waterwood community for 19 years and was running to “make it a nice place for kids and a place to retire.”  He was working as a Bexar County probation officer.

Of the three town-hall meetings that the Community of Sandy Oaks/Waterwood held before the first election, Douglas Tomasini only showed up to the first.  The second was held on July 14, 2014, where some residents expressed outrage at incorporation.  At the  third Town-Hall on July 22, 2014, where candidates stood behind tables with their names displayed for the public, Douglas Tomasini’s spot was empty.

On August 9, 2014 Douglas Tomasini won the first election for city council.  Later, when aldermen were randomly assigned places and terms, he was assigned Alderman Place 2 with a 2 year term.

Notable Actions as Alderman

August 16, 2014 – Doug Tomasini voted to approve the hiring of Art Martinez de Vara as city attorney.  Martinez de Vara at the time was also mayor of Von Ormy, and the legal adviser to CISO, SOPAC, and the WPPOA.

Tomasini approved a vote for the November 2014 election for an illegal amount of sales taxes.

September 11, 2014 – Against protests from the community, Douglas Tomasini voted to thank the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks

September 18, 2014 – During the first city budget hearing, Tomasini approved the budget Mayor Clement presented without doing a line by line analysis or asking where the proposed cost of items came from.  He also accidentally voted in favor of a retroactive 30 cent tax thinking it was for the next year and not the current, although the vote was redone moments later.  When Mayor Clement admitted that the budget was created by the city attorney, Art Martinez de Vara, and that the attorney had budgeted $36,000 for himself, Douglas Tomasini did nothing.

To see articles that involve Douglas Tomasini click here.

Earnest Gay was first introduced to the City of Sandy Oaks in a public way on July 8, 2014, at a “Meet the Candidates” meeting set up by the Sandy Oaks Political Action Committee (SOPAC) where Gay was presented as one of the candidates running for an alderman (city council) position.  He was known to have announced his intention to run as early as May 27, 2014, where he attended a private SOPAC meeting in the Waterwood Park clubhouse.

At the “Meet the Candidates” meeting Earnest Gay said he had lived in the Waterwood community for 18 years.  He is a retired police officer and serves as Executive Board Recording Secretary for the San Antonio Fire & Police Pensioners Association.  He was the first to use the phrase “pay as you go government”, which was later repeated by other candidates in 2014.

Of the three town-hall meetings that the Community of Sandy Oaks/Waterwood held before the first election, Earnest Gay only showed up to the first.  The second was held on July 14, 2014, where some residents expressed outrage at incorporation.  At the third Town-Hall on July 22, 2014, where candidates stood behind tables with their names displayed for the public, Earnest Gay’s spot was empty.

On August 9, 2014 Earnest Gay won the first election for 1 of the 5 aldermen positions on the city council..  Later, when aldermen were randomly assigned places and terms, he was assigned Alderman Place 5 with a 1 year term.

Notable Actions as Alderman

August 16, 2014 – Earnest Gay voted to approve the hiring of Art Martinez de Vara as city attorney.  Martinez de Vara, at the time, was also mayor of Von Ormy, and the legal adviser to CISO, SOPAC, and the WPPOA.

At the same meeting, Gay approved a vote for the November 2014 election for an illegal amount of sales taxes.

September 11, 2014 – Against protests from the community, Earnest Gay voted to thank the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks

September 18, 2014 – During the first city budget hearing, Gay approved the budget Mayor Clement presented without doing a line by line analysis or asking where the proposed cost of items came from.  After smugly informing an upset member of the audience that the city council was not talking about retroactive taxes, 1 hour later Earnest Gay accidentally voted in favor of a retroactive 30 cent tax thinking it was for the next year and not the current.  The vote was redone moments later.  When Mayor Clement admitted that the budget was created by the city attorney, Art Martinez de Vara, and that the attorney had budgeted $36,000 for himself, Earnest Gay did nothing.

January, 2015 – Earnest Gay gave a speech in a Texas Public Policy Foundation presentation regarding “Liberty Cities.”  In the speech, Gay lied about the city avoiding debt, lied about the City Council not wanting a retroactive property tax, lied about lowering a potential property tax due to franchise fees, lied about the city council considering getting rid of property tax altogether, and attacked citizens who felt the vote for incorporation was not communicated well enough.

January 2015 -In late December 2015/early January 2014, Jim Clement, as WPPOA president, mailed out letters to property owners in the Waterwood subdivision.  The letters announced a vote for an amendment to the WPPOA By-Laws.  The original and current By-Laws were 7 pages long and the “amendment” was 32 pages long.  The letter included an illegal ballot that was missing a paragraph required by Texas law and also had the date for people’s signature listed as 2014 instead of 2015.  If people did not participate in the vote, the letter stated that their absence would be counted as a “Yes” vote.  Mail-in ballots were to be sent to Clement’s home.

As an alderman and member of the city council, Earnest Gay did nothing to to protect citizens from Clement’s illegal vote.

February 12, 2015 -Earnest Gay was informed during the “Citizens to be heard” segment of a City Council meeting that the council had created an illegal amount of sales taxes and that someone had illegally changed one of the taxes from a 1/2 to a 1/4.  In response, Gay did nothing.

At the same meeting, Earnest Gay received an official Open Records Request asking for details on how much the city owed, how far the city was in debt, and what expenses the city had.  Gay ignored the request, in violation of the Public Information Act, a state law that promotes honest and open government.

February 26, 2015 – Earnest Gay voted to disregard what voters chose in sales taxes instead of having a new election.

March 21, 2015 – Earnest Gay, acting as Mayor pro tempor, violated the Texas Open Meetings Act by leading the city council into an illegal closed/executive session in which no reason for the closed session was given.

May 14, 2015 -Earnest Gay violated the Texas Open Meeting Act again by participating in a city council meeting in which the council heard from, and discussed with, a person and topic that was not on the official agenda.

To see articles that involve Earnest Gay click here.

Joel Ortega was first introduced to the City of Sandy Oaks in a public way on July 8, 2014, at a “Meet the Candidates” meeting set up by the Sandy Oaks Political Action Committee (SOPAC) where Ortega was presented as one of the candidates running for an alderman (city council) position.  He was known to have announced his intention to run as early as May 27, 2014, where he attended a private SOPAC meeting in the Waterwood Park clubhouse.

At the “Meet the Candidates” meeting Joel Ortega said he had lived in the Waterwood community for 4 years.  He said he was running to represent the Hispanic community.

Of the three town-hall meetings that the Community of Sandy Oaks/Waterwood held before the first election, Joel Ortega only showed up to the first.  The second was held on July 14, 2014, where some residents expressed outrage at incorporation.  At the third Town-Hall on July 22, 2014, where candidates stood behind tables with their names displayed for the public, Joel Ortega’s spot was empty.

On August 9, 2014 Joel Ortega won the first election for 1 of the 5 aldermen positions on the city council.  Later, when aldermen were randomly assigned places and terms, he was assigned Alderman Place 3 with a 1 year term.

Notable Actions as Alderman

August 16, 2014 – Joel Ortega voted to approve the hiring of Art Martinez de Vara as city attorney.  Martinez de Vara, at the time, was also mayor of Von Ormy, and the legal adviser to CISO, SOPAC, and the WPPOA.

Ortega approved a vote for the November 2014 election for an illegal amount of sales taxes.

September 11, 2014 – Against protests from the community, Joel Ortega voted to thank the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks

September 18, 2014 – During the first city budget hearing, Ortega approved the budget Mayor Clement presented without doing a line by line analysis or asking where the proposed cost of items came from.  Joel Ortega accidentally voted in favor of a retroactive 30 cent tax thinking it was for the next year and not the current.  The vote was redone moments later.  When Mayor Clement admitted that the budget was created by the city attorney, Art Martinez de Vara, and that the attorney had budgeted $36,000 for himself, Joel Ortega did nothing.

December 11, 2014 – Joel Ortega was told during the City Council meeting on December 11, 2014 that members of the community received letters from the owner of the property in which the council met, stating that they were legally banned from accessing the property.  Ortega continued to participate in council meetings anyway, in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act.

2015

January 2015 -In late December 2015/early January 2014, Jim Clement, as WPPOA president, mailed out letters to property owners in the Waterwood subdivision.  The letters announced a vote for an amendment to the WPPOA By-Laws.  The original and current By-Laws were 7 pages long and the “amendment” was 32 pages long.  The letter included an illegal ballot that was missing a paragraph required by Texas law and also had the date for people’s signature listed as 2014 instead of 2015.  If people did not participate in the vote, the letter stated that their absence would be counted as a “Yes” vote.  Mail-in ballots were to be sent to Clement’s home.

As an alderman and member of the city council, Joel Ortega did nothing to protect citizens from Clement’s illegal vote.

February 12, 2015 –  Joel Ortega was informed during the “Citizens to be heard” segment of a City Council meeting that the council had created an illegal amount of sales taxes and that someone had illegally changed one of the taxes from a 1/2 to a 1/4.  In response, Ortega did nothing about the illegal change.

At the same meeting, Joel Ortega received an official Open Records Request asking for details on how much the city owed, how far the city was in debt, and what expenses the city had.  Ortega ignored the request, in violation of the Public Information Act, a state law that promotes honest and open government.

March 21, 2015 – Joel Ortega violated the Texas Open Meetings Act by participating in an illegal closed/executive session with the city council in which no reason for the closed session was given.

May 14, 2015 – Joel Ortega violated the Texas Open Meeting Act again by participating in a city council meeting in which the council heard from, and discussed with, a person and topic that was not on the official agenda.

To see articles that involve Joel Ortega click here.

Last updated 5/26/2015

Jim Clement and his family were some of the first people to move to the Waterwood community when the land was first being developed.  He stated in a meeting on July 8, 2014 that he had lived in the area for 26 years and stated in a short bio in the Sandy Oaks Chronicle a few weeks later that he had lived in the area for 29 years.  After 20 years in the Air Force, Jim Clement retired as an E6, Technical Sergeant.

Jim Clement has been president of the Waterwood Park Property Owner’s Association (WPPOA) many times.  In February 2005 he was elected in District 5 to be on the Board of Trustees for the Bexarmet Water District.  He later became the Vice President of the board for Bexarmet on November 27, 2007.

Incorporation

In 2011 Jim Clement, along with Pedro Orduno, created the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks (CISO).  Clement has been described in some areas as the Co-Chair of the Committee and in other areas as the Vice-Chair.  CISO is responsible for the creation of the City of Sandy Oaks.

Originally, CISO requested San Antonio to release 9 square miles of its ETJ.  When San Antonio declined, CISO requested 4 square miles and San Antonio eventually offered 2.4 square miles.  Jim Clement told the Express News on August 28, 2013 that incorporating at 2.4 would not give enough commercial revenue for the City of Sandy Oaks to survive.  On January 27, 2014, Jim Clement and CISO submitted paperwork with Bexar County to hold a vote for incorporation.

On April 24, 2014, Jim Clement and CISO held an information meeting regarding the vote for incorporation (early voting for incorporation started April 28th).  At this meeting CISO was directly asked if they would be announcing the deadline for people to apply to run for City Council positions, to which the Committee confirmed that it would.

2014 Politics

On May 27, 2014, Jim Clement and Pedro Orduno held what was to be a secret meeting at the Waterwood clubhouse.  The purpose of the meeting was for new members of the Sandy Oaks Political Action Committee (SOPAC) to meet one another.  CISO had formed SOPAC on February 14, 2014.  New members included Joel Ortega, Earnest Gay, Douglas Tomasini, and Dale Burmaster.

The deadline for people to run for the new City Council of Sandy Oaks passed June 26,  without mention to the community.  When asked why CISO did not announce the deadline as it had told the community it would, Jim Clement, then running unopposed for mayor, responded “Why should we have announced it?  It’s people’s own responsibility to know.”

Jim Clement organized the first of 3 town meetings for people to meet and talk to the 9 candidates running for City Council in 2014.  He did not attend the other 2.

Although he ran unopposed, only 63% of the voters actually voted for Jim Clement on August 9, 2014.

Last of 2014

August 16, 2014 – In the first city council meeting of the City of Sandy Oaks, Jim Clement made sure that there was an official place set up for Art Martinez de Vara as city attorney of Sandy Oaks.  This was done before the city officially created the position of City Attorney and before the Council had approved the nomination.  Martinez de Vara was the adviser to CISO as well as to SOPAC and the WPPOA. He was also currently the mayor of Von Ormy, Texas.

In the same meeting, Clement lead the City Council in the approval of an election in November 2014 for an illegal amount of sales taxes.  The maximum amount of sales taxes that the city could create was 1.5%, but Clement had the council create a full 2%.

September 11, 2014 – Jim Clement creates an agenda item for the city council to thank the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks, which he admits only included himself and 3 others.

September 18, 2014 – Jim Clement presented a budget to the City Council that included a 38 cent tax.  When it was explained to him that the tax would be retroactive and would go back to the January before the area incorporated into a city (4 months), Jim Clement responded “It’s all or none.”  When he was asked towards the end of the Budget Hearing who created the budget, Jim Clement admitted that Art Martinez de Vara did.

September 22, 2014 – After the city council rejected his retroactive 38 cent tax, WOAI News Radio reported that Jim Clement said he pushed for a “zero cent tax” to help the poor.

November 4, 2014 – Jim Clement stood outside the poling location at Freedom Elementary School telling voters that the proposed sales tax they were about to vote on would not be an increase in the sales tax that they were already paying.  However, it was an increase of 3 times the amount of the current sales tax.

December 11, 2014 – When asked why he lied to WOAI that he pushed for a zero cent tax, Jim Clement claimed that he had presented 2 budgets, one for 38 cents and another for 0.  Only 1 budget was ever presented.

Jim Clement was told during the City Council meeting on December 11, 2014 that members of the community received letters from the owner of the property in which the council met, stating that they were legally banned from accessing the property.  Clement continued to hold meetings anyway, in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act.

2015

January 2015 – In late December 2015/early January 2014, Jim Clement, as WPPOA president, mailed out letters to property owners in the Waterwood subdivision.  The letters announced a vote for an amendment to the WPPOA By-Laws.  The original and current By-Laws were 7 pages long and the “amendment” was 32 pages long.  The letter included an illegal ballot that was missing a paragraph required by Texas law and also had the date for people’s signature listed as 2014 instead of 2015.  If people did not participate in the vote, the letter stated that their absence would be counted as a “Yes” vote.  Mail-in ballots were to be sent to Clement’s home.

January 15, 2015 – Jim Clement and the WPPOA held a meeting in the community clubhouse to vote on the new amended By-Laws.  The meeting quickly dissolved as people expressed outrage at Clement, the WPPOA, and Waterwood Development. Clement eventually decided to postpone the vote to a later time.  The issue of voting to amend the WPPOA bylaws never came up again.

February 12, 2015 – Jim Clement was informed during the “Citizens to be heard” segment of a City Council meeting that the council had created an illegal amount of sales taxes and that someone had illegally changed one of the taxes from a 1/2 to a 1/4.  In response, Clement did nothing.

At the same meeting, Jim Clement received an official Open Records Request asking for details on how much the city owed, how far the city was in debt, and what expenses the city had.  Clement ignored the request, in violation of the Public Information Act, a state law that promotes honest and open government.

March 4, 2015 – Jim Clement, as WPPOA president, receives by certified mail a request to view legal and financial documents of the WPPOA.  Clement ignored the request in violation of state law.

May 14, 2015 – Jim Clement violated the Texas Open Meeting Act again by inviting a guest to speak to the City Council even though the guest and item of discussion was not on the required agenda.

To see all articles that involve Jim Clement, click here.

Last updated 5/25/2015