Judge Roe wants to be the city manager of Hearne?
January 9, 2015 January 9, 2015 by Ty Clevenger
Former Robertson County Judge Jan Roe seems awfully anxious to start feeding at the public trough again. She lost her election in November, but shortly thereafter convinced the outgoing commissioners' court to appoint her to the water board. Now, according to an e-mail that I received today, she wants to replace Pee Wee Drake as the city manager of Hearne.
On December 23, 2014, I filed a request for records under the Texas Public Information Act, and Hearne City Attorney Bryan F. "Rusty" Russ, Jr. produced 50 pages, including a November 10, 2014 e-mail claiming that Roe wants to succeed Drake. I doubt seriously that my clients — Councilwomen Hazel Embra, Joyce Rattler, and Lashunda White — would let that happen, but the e-mail is further evidence of Mr. Russ's efforts to maintain control of city government. Mr. Russ is making a nice chunk of money from the City of Hearne (more on that later, but I can tell you that he gets paid far more than the city attorneys for other communities of comparable size, and a company that he owns received taxpayer funds from the city). Obviously, he doesn't want to lose control of his cash flow.
I'll have more to say about the remaining records, including Mr. Russ's letter to the editor that was published in the Robertson County News on December 25, 2014, in the next few weeks. But I can say this much: Mr. Russ lied, even as he accused my clients of lying. While it is not a crime to lie to a newspaper, it could sure get him in trouble with the State Bar of Texas.