Before we dive in: This is a long read. If you’re not interested in local government, the rule of law, or how power operates in small towns like Jasper, feel free to scroll on. But for those who care about accountability — who’ve watched too many councils bend the rules, stretch the truth, or simply look the other way — this one’s for you.
Because laws were given for a reason. Not as suggestions, but as boundaries meant to protect all of us. And across Jasper — and across this country — everyday citizens are fighting to ensure those we elect don’t forget it.
Special Called Meeting: Where We Are — and What We Can No Longer Pretend Not to See.
It doesn’t matter how softly you frame it or how subtly you try to push a chosen agenda — the law is the law. And when that law is knowingly disregarded, the only logical explanation left is corruption.
Whether it’s greed, self-preservation, loyalty to an expired power structure, or something more hollow and insidious — the evil we’re witnessing is deliberate harm masked as leadership. Corruption. Deceit. Abuse cloaked in governance. Manipulation dressed as consensus.
But evil never walks alone.
It moves in patterns. It feeds on systems that enable it — boards with expired terms, council silence framed as prudence, consultants paid to reinforce the illusion of legitimacy.
And most of all? It thrives in shadows.
Not because everyone who’s silent intends harm, but because complicity often begins with simply looking away.
Let’s look at the agenda for Monday night’s meeting.
WORKSHOP:
Discuss the Jasper Economic Development Corporation (JEDCO) Board Members –
As Councilman Lequin Hilderbrand and Bob Mayhar have stated, we’ve been working on this for months. Monday night they go into workshop once again to “work out the details” before the final vote.
What is simply amazing is the time that this has taken to go around what the law says. Shouldn’t this be simple? We look at the laws and bylaws and make choices accordingly — instead of striving to maintain a board of directors who, by their own words, have not followed the law themselves.
JEDCO bylaws are clear.
Directors are appointed by City Council.
Terms of office shall be two-year staggered terms.
The bylaws are subject to and governed by Texas state law, which says: “a director serves for a term of not more than six years.”
Let’s be plain:
JEDCO is not operating legally.
The mayor said in a recent meeting (acknowledging Billy Morian III): “He made a resolution. We don’t have to do anything our city attorney suggests.” But then council turns around and acts as if attorney Frank Garza’s legal opinion is law.
Mr. Garza’s opinion may carry professional weight — but it’s still just a legal opinion. And opinions do not override bylaws or state law. Legal opinions don’t excuse six-year terms where staggered two-year appointments are mandated. They don’t erase procedural violations with a signature. They don’t make a board legal simply because a loop of officials say so.
So, the question becomes:
Will Jasper’s council members uphold the law — or join the silence that enables its unraveling?
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION
Line Item #1 — Remove/Appoint Board Members to JEDCO
Let’s be clear. There are three legal board members:
Lequin Hilderbrand
Ronald Sample
Jennifer Miranda
They were appointed correctly by the City Council in May of 2024. As per the JEDCO bylaws, their terms remain effective until May of 2026. Since Executive Director Eddie Hopkins and President Danny Walker have both resigned — as well as one other member — the remaining twelve have served past their terms and should be removed. No holdovers are needed.
Some say we need “holdovers” to help guide open files. But Sam Mathews has been working there for years and should be more than equipped to assist with transition.
What’s truly questionable is the level of disdain shown toward everyday citizens serving on a public board. From where I sit, it is ordinary citizens who can quote and abide by the law.
The solution is clear. We need a city council willing to uphold the law moving forward.
Line Item #2 — Kendig Keast Contract Amendment (Zoning Ordinance Project)
Zoning means one thing… control.
Control over how and what you do with your own property.
Rural life offers a kind of spaciousness — not just geographically, but spiritually. People steward their own patch of earth, make choices by need and by heart, and aren’t boxed into overlays or dictated by boards with big-city ambitions.
Why should everyone conform to the vision of a select few?
The mayor had said: “Nobody is going to come in here and build a hotel and somebody put a metal junkyard right next door.” Then tell them not to come. I’d rather see my neighbor live out his dream than be forced to shape his land to fit corporate optics. Zoning shouldn’t be about catering to investment packaging — it should reflect real people, real needs, and the kind of freedom rural life was built on.
And furthermore: Zoning does not equal prosperity.
Houston has no traditional zoning, yet it’s one of the fastest-growing, most economically diverse cities in the U.S. When local officials say zoning will “make Jasper successful,” it’s worth asking: successful for whom?
Zoning can be used to control land use. But it can also entrench power, limit affordable housing, and protect vested interests — especially in small towns where influence networks run deep.
According to Texas Local Government Code § 211.007:
A zoning commission is required for a home-rule city to legally exercise zoning powers.
Council must pass an ordinance to create it. Members must be appointed, with staggered terms. So, if the city manager is asking for a contract extension with Kendig Keast Collaborative that began in 2021:
1. KKC should have vetted the city for a zoning commission before anything else.
2. Council never appointed such a commission.
3. Even if they had — their terms would already be expired.
I’ve requested public records related to this zoning project, and as of now, those requests remain unanswered. What has surfaced — in the email records I’ve seen — is clear evidence that the zoning process hasn’t been handled legally, and the public has not been given the full truth.
Once again, this council faces a crossroads on its own morality.
Will they uphold the law — or preserve whatever power, money, or influence they think they’re defending?
And to go further — let it be told plainly:
The city attorney does not represent the people. His job is to defend the city government as it currently stands. If that “city” now means a loop of expired board members, procedural contradictions, and internally justified decisions… then his legal counsel defends that loop. And the public should know exactly how much they are paying to keep it defended.
So to sum it up, Monday’s meeting isn’t just about zoning or board appointments. It’s about whether law still matters in Jasper. Whether we’re governed by process — or by proximity. Whether the charter, the bylaws, and Texas state law are respected — or quietly sidelined.
This public commentary is based on available records, direct meeting footage, and citizen research. It reflects one resident’s effort to promote transparency and lawful governance. It is not legal advice. Readers are invited to verify, question, and participate in shaping how Jasper is governed.