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Bastrop Mayor Lyle Nelson Remains, Petition Rejected

Bastrop city bosses dismissed a petition to recall Mayor Lyle Nelson, who faced ethical misconduct claims. Petitioners have time to refile.

Published August 19, 2024 at 6:04am by

City of Bastrop rejects recall petition against Mayor Nelson, gives petitioners more time to address legal issues

The City of Bastrop has rejected a petition to recall Mayor Lyle Nelson over ethics violations on legal grounds, citing missing affidavits, but has granted petitioners 10 days to rectify the issue. The petition garnered 1,632 signatures, exceeding the required threshold of 25% of registered voters for recall petitions. Interim City Secretary Irma Parker informed the City Council of the defect on Tuesday.

"I made a personal and private mistake," Nelson said at Tuesday's meeting. "I took responsibility, apologized for my actions and sought forgiveness from God, family and friends. However, some people, including some on this council, continue to try to wrongfully connect my private indiscretion to a misuse of funds and alleged criminal conduct. ... All I did was resist an unlawful invasion of my constitutional right of privacy."

The petition, submitted by council members John Kirkland, Kevin Plunkett, Cynthia Meyer, former council member Jimmy Crouch, and others, accuses Nelson of impeding the investigation into financial mismanagement at Visit Bastrop, citing his romantic relationship with its CEO, Susan Smith. Smith was investigated for misusing public funds while leading the tourism marketing company, which receives over $1.5 million in city hotel tax funding. As a result of the allegations, Nelson's duties as mayor were curtailed by the City Council in May. If the petition succeeds and Nelson is recalled, the city could spend up to $50,000 on special elections.

Nelson will host a community meeting with his attorney on Monday at the Hampton Inn to address the recall petition.

Political divisions emerge as council considers rule changes and charter amendments:

In other news, the council debated changes to its quorum rules and considered proposed charter amendments. Council member Kerry Fossler initially proposed lowering the quorum from four to three members to prevent private discussions among members, but later suggested keeping the quorum at four while prohibiting groups of three or more from discussing city business outside of public meetings. The motion failed 3-2. Exemptions were requested by Meyer and Kirkland for ad hoc subcommittees, which was later approved unanimously along with the rule changes.

The Charter Review Commission separately recommended a charter amendment to keep the quorum at four for official meetings but lower it to three for other purposes, aiming to prevent private discussions on city business. The commission's chair, David Bragg, and commissioner Debbie Moore expressed concerns about the potential for devious behavior and the promotion of personal agendas with the current quorum rules. The proposed charter amendments, including the quorum change, are expected to be placed on the November ballot by the City Council in an upcoming special meeting.

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