Two Amarillo residents have filed a lawsuit against Mayor Ginger Nelson and members of the Amarillo City Council for alleged violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
On Monday, Claudette Smith and Michael Fisher filed a lawsuit against Mayor Ginger Nelson and Councilmembers Elaine Hays, Freda Powell, Eddy Sauer and Howard Smith, alleging violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act. The lawsuit was filed in Judge John Board's 181st District Court.
Specifically, the lawsuit addresses what it deems as three violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act that occurred on May 24, 2017, October 31, 2017 and a "improper" meeting on March 6, 2018. The lawsuit also addresses an instance in which Mayor Ginger Nelson instructed residents to cease recording a public meeting at Amarillo City Hall on March 27, 2018.
Mike Fisher, one of the petitioners in the lawsuit, said that he decided to sue the Amarillo City Council after Mayor Ginger Nelson told those using cell phones in the Council Chambers of Amarillo City Hall to stop recording. Fisher said that he felt this was a direct violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act provision that allows residents to record government proceedings and that Nelson's actions infringed on the rights of the citizens of Amarillo.
"Let this lawsuit serve as a reminder of the organizational chart that shows who the city council and all city employees work for," Fisher said in a statement to the Amarillo Pioneer. "It's not a convenience store owner, not the owners of a bank...it is the collective group of people that live in this city that we call citizens."
This is the second high-profile lawsuit filed against the City of Amarillo in the past two months. In March, resident Rusty Donelson filed a lawsuit against the City of Amarillo for its actions in attempting to shut down the Christ Church Camp of New Beginnings. Shortly after Donelson's suit was filed, the City of Amarillo filed a lawsuit against Melvin McEwen, the owner of the property that was the one-time home of the Christ Church Camp of New Beginnings.
The lawsuit is still listed as "pending" on the Potter County Tyler Odyssey Portal at press time.
