By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-11 17:54:34 | Updated at 2026-08-11 18:23:12
41 minutes ago
The female mayor of a Texas city has become the first of its leaders to be formally reprimanded and suspended from office for alleged misconduct.
Paulette Guajardo, the mayor of Corpus Christi, a city southeast of San Antonio near the southernmost tip of the state, was suspended for 30 days by the city council on Friday.
The mayor was accused of committing perjury during a 2025 deposition hearing, failing to keep information from the city's economic development corporation confidential and aiding in fraud against taxpayers by supporting a tax incentive for a hotel development based on undated flood maps.
Guajardo and the developer have denied all wrongdoing in the matter.
The charges stemmed from a 2024 presentation to the city council arguing that a downtown hotel development, Homewood Suites by Hilton, should receive a $2 million grant because of flood zone requirements enacted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2022.
The grant presentation, which was supported and elevated by Guajardo, included a screenshot from a FEMA webpage that had allegedly been altered to remove the date, allegedly creating a false, time‑sensitive justification for the funding.
The perjury charge alleged that Guajardo lied during an August 2025 testimony, in which she claimed to have no knowledge that developers had altered the screenshot to be misleading.
The accusations against the mayor and developer were levied by rival hotelier Ajit David, who sued the city for alleged fraud. He claimed that the mayor and developer knew what they were doing when they presented the altered screenshot.
Paulette Guajardo, the mayor of Corpus Christi, Texas, was suspended by the city council for 30 days on Friday
Guajardo was accused of perjury, aiding fraud against taxpayers and failing to keep the city's economic development corporation's activities confidential
The charges stemmed from an allegedly fraudulent presentation by the developers of Homewood Suites by Hilton (pictured), who were seeking a $2 million grant
The Daily Mail has reached out to Guajardo and Homewood Suites for comment.
Managing member of the Homewood Suites project Phillip Ramirez told KIIITV in 2024: 'Just talking about a slide that was created for informational purposes - the date that the city ratified the actual FEMA flood maps was on that slide.
'It's in our bullet point in the slide... It's an issue we presented, and at the end of the day, there was no intent to mislead anybody on anything.'
The city council tribunal, composed of six members, found Guajardo guilty on all three of her charges, but with varying levels of support and punishment. One council member voted in dissent on each charge.
Before the vote, the attorney for the hotelier who filed the lawsuit against the city characterized the ordeal as a 'very serious cancer' and 'corruption.'
'No one wants to really have to deal with the underbelly of this city, which has been the breeding ground of the mayor for too long,' attorney Doug Allison said during his closing remarks, per MySA.
Each charge carried three potential options for punishments, including removal from office in the most severe case, suspension in the middle ground and a formal reprimand in the least severe case.
Regarding the fraud and altered screenshot allegation, the council voted 5-1 in favor of suspending the mayor for 30 days and formally reprimanding her.
The Corpus Christi skyline is pictured. The city is located southeast of San Antonio near the southernmost tip of Texas
The city council voted in favor of suspending Guajardo for her fraud charge and voted to formally reprimand her for her perjury charge
The city council did not reach the 5-1 supermajority needed to remove Guajardo from office in light of any of the charges against her
The council did not vote in favor of suspending the mayor for either of the other two charges, but did vote 5-1 to formally reprimand her for the perjury charge.
Guajardo faced no penalty for the charge of failing to keep the city's economic development corporation activities confidential.
The council failed to reach the required 5-1 supermajority needed for removal from office in any of the charges.
The mayor's suspension began on August 8 and will be effective through September 6.
In the meantime, city councilmember Kaylynn Paxson will lead the city as mayor pro tem.
Guajardo's attorney, John Flood, said during Friday's hearing: 'When you strip away the rhetoric and look only at the evidence, this accusation has no foundation whatsoever.'
During Guajardo's suspension, which will take place from August 8 through September 6, City Councilmember Kaylynn Paxson will lead the city as mayor pro tem
After her suspension on Friday, Guajardo took to Facebook to thank 'the people of Corpus Christi for the overwhelming support, prayers, calls, messages, and encouragement you have given me throughout this difficult time.'
'I have felt your strength every single day. Serving as Mayor is about protecting the city, fighting for its future, and honoring the trust of the people,' the mayor continued.
'I remain hopeful that we can move forward with dignity, restore confidence in our city, and bring our community back together around what matters most: the people of Corpus Christi and the future we share.'
