BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL CRITICAL OF ELECTION ‘VITRIOL’, ‘MISINFORMATION’
Members of the Brenham City Council were vocal today (Thursday) about their disappointment in the attitudes and rhetoric on display by some in the public during this election cycle.
of Thursday's city council meeting about the May
3rd election, condemning the "misinformation"
being spread.
During the administrative reports section of today’s council meeting, Councilmember Dr. Paul LaRoche III decried the “backstabbing”, “vitriol” and “vindictiveness” occurring for the May 3rd elections, saying it has been “really, really, really disappointing.”
Mayor Atwood Kenjura echoed Dr. LaRoche’s comments, saying there has been a “lot of misinformation” shared. Specifically, he made note of a post from a local organization that called on voters to vote against each of the 12 charter amendment propositions on the city ballot.
The organization in question was not named by Kenjura or the council during today’s meeting.
An advertisement by the Washington County Republican Women was posted to the group’s Facebook page Wednesday evening about the charter election. The post states that the propositions are “contradictory and confusing” and claims the public was not made aware of the proposals in a timely manner.
Kenjura said the city has had a total of eight public meetings dating back to February 2024 that have covered the subject of the charter amendments, from workshops discussing the language of the amendments to the votes officially calling the charter amendment election.
The post also says the amendments “raise salaries yet decrease duties” and “place power in the hands of one person”, referencing proposals to raise mayor and council salaries and allow the city manager, rather than the city council, to set and approve surety bonds for appointed officers and employees.
Kenjura acknowledged that some of the propositions will understandably warrant debate, but others, like making corrections to grammar and spelling or setting election dates in conjunction with the uniform date authorized by state law, are “a no-brainer.”
City Secretary Jeana Bellinger said she has created charter voter education books that are available both in hard copy at her office and online at www.cityofbrenham.org. The books break down each of the 12 propositions, what it means to vote yes or no on them, and any budget impact they carry.
Kenjura said that no one has come by to pick up a physical copy and believes it is “an insult” to the council and Bellinger to call for votes against all of the propositions without knowing what they all mean.