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Odessa Headlines, Odessa, TX (2025)

12/19/2025

Why Won’t the City of Odessa Just Do the Right Thing?

At a hastily called press conference this morning—notice sent to the media at 8:32 a.m. for a 9:30 a.m. event—Mayor Cal Hendrick responded to a December 15, 2025 letter from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Paxton’s letter addresses a clear requirement in Texas law: a city may not adopt a tax rate above the no-new-revenue rate if it has failed to timely file its required annual audits.
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This issue was not a surprise.

Local watchdog Kris Crow raised the concern publicly at the tax rate notice hearing, before the Odessa City Council finalized the 2025–26 tax rate. Rather than take the warning seriously, Crow was rebuffed by Mayor Hendrick and interim city attorney Keith Stretcher, who dismissed his interpretation as incorrect.

Crow then posed a simple, obvious question—one the City never answered:

"What happens if the City adopts the higher tax rate, sends out tax bills, and the Attorney General later determines the City was wrong?"

We now have that answer.

The Attorney General has determined the City was wrong.

Yet instead of acknowledging the error and correcting course, the City chose to hold a press conference and issue a lengthy rebuttal—arguing not with critics, but with the State of Texas.

This is becoming a pattern.

Rather than do right by residents, the City repeatedly chooses confrontation over correction. We see it again in the ongoing water billing crisis, where residents received utility bills that any reasonable person would recognize as wildly inaccurate—sometimes by thousands of dollars.

Instead of sitting down with affected customers and working toward a fair resolution, the City opted to stonewall its own citizens—pushing them to the point where a multi-million-dollar class action lawsuit became the only remaining option.

In both cases, the path forward was obvious:
Pause
Acknowledge the problem
Work with residents to make it right

Instead, City leadership chose to fight.

And fight expensively.

While claiming there is “never enough money,” the City has had no trouble spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on legal fees—litigating against the very people they are supposed to serve. Curiously, the same City recently managed to “find” $140 million for a new sports complex.

So the question isn’t whether Odessa has the resources.
It’s whether it has the will to do right by its citizens.

Our city deserves leaders who put taxpayers first—who correct mistakes instead of doubling down on them, and who seek solutions instead of courtrooms.

Odessa doesn’t need more press conferences.
It needs more accountability.

12/10/2025

OPINION: Bill Cleaver’s Disgraceful Attack on Charlie Kirk Demands His Removal From City Committees

During Tuesday night’s Odessa City Council meeting, local activist Bill Cleaver crossed a moral line so bright it’s visible from space.

With no provocation and no evidence, Cleaver repeatedly labeled assassinated conservative leader Charlie Kirk a “pe*****le.”

Yep, you read that correctly.

Right there in a public meeting, at the podium provided by the taxpayers of Odessa, a man appointed to two city boards weaponized the ugliest slur imaginable against a man who cannot defend himself — a man who was assassinated because of his conservative political views.

Item #14 on the Council agenda was a straightforward discussion about creating commemorative signs honoring individuals such as Charlie Kirk, Jovita Idar, Others designated by the Council

The item was placed on the agenda by Councilmen Chris Hanie and Greg Connell after citizens submitted petitions to rename streets to honor Kirk and Idar — just as the Council recently honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The conversation was polite. Respectful. Normal.

Then the mayor opened public comment.

And Bill Cleaver took the microphone.

Cleaver began with a rant about “too many placards,” saying:
“Get you a set of guidelines and quit trying to appease everybody… I see enough dang placards when I’m going to 7-Eleven.”

But he didn’t stop there. He pivoted directly to defaming Charlie Kirk, declaring: “I’m going to call him a pe*****le… Anytime a 30-year-old man has to go to a college where students are from 18 to 20… you're showing me you’re a pe*****le.”

This is not just ignorant — it is viciously ignorant and unhinged.

By Cleaver’s logic, every civic leader who has ever spoken on a college campus is suspect. That includes presidents, governors, Nobel Prize winners, military leaders, civil rights icons — and Martin Luther King, Jr., whom Cleaver himself loudly supported when Odessa renamed part of Murphy Street in MLK’s honor.

Dr. King spoke at more than 50 colleges and universities. Explaining why he did so, he told students at UC Berkeley in 1967:

“The world doesn’t change without the work and the witness of young people. It is your generation that will carry forward the unfinished business of freedom.”

But according to Cleaver, engaging young adults makes you a predator.

It would be laughable if it weren’t so deeply shameful.

This is not Cleaver’s first moment of disgrace.

Citizens will recall that he stood firmly behind Councilman Eddie Mitchell even after Mitchell infamously said “It’s hard to explain things to stupid people.” speaking directly about District 1 voters.

Cleaver supported the push to outlaw mobile homes across most of Odessa — a move directly harming working families while being potentially advantageous to his fledgling home construction business.

And now this: a public smear so grotesque it should disqualify anyone from representing the city in any official capacity.

Cleaver currently serves on Odessa’s Planning & Zoning Commission and the Board of Survey

These are not fringe committees. Planning & Zoning alone has enormous influence over housing, business development, and land use in Odessa.

The question the Council must answer is simple:
Does a man who publicly calls a murdered conservative advocate a pe*****le — with no evidence — deserve to sit in judgment over Odessa residents and their property?

The answer is equally simple: No. He does not.

Bill Cleaver has every right to speak as a private citizen.
But he has no right to serve on city boards while exhibiting reckless disregard for truth, public hostility toward citizens he disagrees with, a pattern of inflammatory, divisive behavior, and a willingness to weaponize slurs in official meetings

Odessa deserves representatives who elevate public discourse, not degrade it.

It is time for the City Council to remove Mr. Cleaver from his appointed positions. Immediately.

11/03/2025

TOMORROW IS ELECTION DAY — BUT ECTOR COUNTY VOTERS STILL DON’T GET A SAY ON OUR BIGGEST ISSUE

Tomorrow, we’ll head to the polls to vote on a long list of state constitutional amendments.

But notice what’s not on the ballot — the $325 million courthouse and juvenile center project pushed through by Judge Dustin Fawcett and Commissioners Greg Simmons, Mike Gardner, Billy Hall, and former Precinct 3 Commissioner Don Stringer.

Instead of giving taxpayers a voice through a public bond election, they chose to bypass voters entirely and saddle us with the largest debt and tax increase in Ector County history.

Current Precinct 3 Commissioner Samantha Russell (yes, my daughter-in-law) stood before the Court — twice — pleading with them to let voters decide. They ignored her. They ignored all of us.

So tomorrow, while we vote on state amendments that promise to cut taxes, remember this: Your county taxes are still going up by 37% — thanks to decisions you never got to vote on.

Would’ve been nice to have a say in a $325 million courthouse, don’t you think?

11/01/2025

HEADLINES INVESTIGATION: “We’ll Never Regain Public Trust” — Inside the City’s Tax-Rate Cover-Up
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The Spark: A Citizen and a Law the City Wanted to Ignore

When Odessan Kris Crow stood before the Odessa City Council on September 17, 2025, he wasn’t just voicing a concern — he had already filed a formal complaint with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, asserting that the city was in violation of Senate Bill 1851. That new state law prevents cities from adopting a tax rate above the “no-new-revenue” rate if their annual audit and financial statement have not been timely filed.

From the dais, city leaders pushed back hard. Mayor Cal Hendrick and Interim City Attorney Keith Stretcher, citing “over 100 years of combined legal experience,” publicly assured citizens that SB 1851 did not apply to Odessa in the present instance.

But Crow’s complaint had already set a process in motion—one that would soon expose just how deeply flawed the city’s internal numbers, procedures, and leadership had become.

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A Warning from Within

Just nine days later, on September 26, 2025, Councilman Craig Stoker sent an email to the Mayor, City Manager David Vela, City Attorney Stretcher, and Assistant City Manager (now Interim City Manager) Aaron Smith. The subject line: “Re: Fixing the Tax Levy for the City of Odessa, Texas.”

Stoker’s email is remarkable — both for its bluntness and for what it reveals about the breakdown inside City Hall.

“I tried to call out the inaccuracy in our numbers and subsequent marketing,” Stoker wrote. “I mentioned that I did not like the use of that number at the budget workshop… but by that point I had been yelled at enough and demeaned by another council member that I mostly kept my mouth shut.”

He went on to blame both the Finance and Media Relations Departments for publishing and promoting false tax-rate data:

“As I expressed to you earlier this is a failure on the part of not only finance but also marketing. There are inaccuracies and conflicts all over the website regarding the budget and the data. All of them should know better.”

“Just like the mess with billing and collections, I am angry that we walk out with egg on our face and take the blame, but we don’t even have the ability to take any action to reassure the public that incompetent staff have been dealt with. We will never be able to rebuild any kind of public trust when we can’t even trust the staff ourselves.”

That single line — “We will never be able to rebuild any kind of public trust” — would prove prophetic.

Despite his frustration, Stoker concluded by saying he would still vote for the budget and the flawed tax rate “to avoid punishing the city” but vowed that “next year I will expect that we have a competent staff member or third-party budget manager. I will not suffer through this ridiculousness again.”

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The Mayor’s Response: Private Calls, Public Silence

Just hours earlier that same evening, Mayor Hendrick had circulated his own message to the council — one that now raises serious Open Meetings Act concerns.

“You are each BCC’ed to avoid a violation of the Open Meetings Act,” Hendrick began, before adding: “I have talked to each of you individually this afternoon to explain the problems with the proposed tax rate and the fact that the effect of the proposed tax rate is much greater than what we understood.”

The Mayor went on to acknowledge that “we relied on inaccurate data” to communicate the new tax rate to the public — data used on the city’s website, social media, and in conversations with the press and staff.

He then described a decision point that, by his own words, appeared to have already been reached:

“We either do nothing and allow the new tax rate to become effective October 1, 2025, or we can meet next Friday and agree to a no-new-[revenue sic] tax rate… It is my understanding that Council members desire an opportunity to readdress the tax levy issue next week.”

Finally, Hendrick instructed City Manager Vela:
“Please get with the City Secretary and post a notice for a meeting for next Friday, October 3rd, at 11:00 AM… and a second notice for 11:30 AM.”

But those meetings were never posted — and never held.

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The Meetings That Disappeared

A review of the city’s official agenda center confirms that no special meetings were scheduled for October 3, 2025.
No notices.
No minutes.
No explanation.

Instead, the city quietly proceeded with adopting the flawed tax rate — the same one both the mayor and Stoker had acknowledged internally was based on inaccurate data.
In doing so, they effectively hid the problem from the public.

No correction was issued.
No statement was made.
No effort was taken to fix what both the mayor and a sitting councilman knew to be wrong.

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The Pattern: Conceal, Delay, Deny
The events of late September 2025 show a troubling pattern at Odessa City Hall:

Citizen raises a legal concern (Crow) → dismissed.
Internal acknowledgment of error (Hendrick & Stoker) → buried.
Promise of corrective action (Oct 3 meetings) → never kept.
No public disclosure → taxpayers left in the dark.

Even after the Texas Attorney General opened an investigation, city officials publicly maintained that they had acted properly. That narrative unraveled, however, during a later press conference, when Mayor Cal Hendrick told reporters that the Council had decided in executive session to send a letter to Attorney General Ken Paxton stating that the city would not raise the 2025–26 tax rate above the no-new-revenue rate.

That admission is problematic on two fronts. First, it directly contradicts the public record — video of the meeting shows the Council reconvening from executive session and announcing that no action had been taken. Second, it appears to confirm a violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act, which prohibits taking or agreeing upon official action in closed session.

Hendrick further acknowledged that, amid the controversy, city officials had also found some problems with the way tax rates had been calculated in prior years, reinforcing the pattern of internal errors and after-the-fact disclosure that has plagued this administration.

That contradiction — between public denial and private admission — lies at the heart of Odessa’s credibility crisis.

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“We’ll Never Rebuild Public Trust”
Councilman Stoker’s words now serve as both confession and epitaph for the city’s handling of this affair:

“We will never be able to rebuild any kind of public trust when we can’t even trust the staff ourselves.”

He was right. The cover-up didn’t just destroy confidence in the city’s numbers — it shattered confidence in its leaders.

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The Bottom Line
Crow did his duty by invoking state law and alerting the Attorney General.

Stoker did his duty by documenting the truth in writing but failed the public trust by not bringing his very valid concerns public.

The mayor and council clearly failed in their duty — to correct the record, inform the public, and honor the Open Meetings Act they claimed to be following.

The missing October 3 meetings are more than a clerical omission; they are evidence of a deliberate decision to keep citizens in the dark.

And as the investigation continues, the question Odessa must now ask is not whether the math was wrong — it’s whether the city’s leadership was ever honest about it.
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HEADLINE TAKEAWAY:
“We’ll Never Rebuild Public Trust.” — Councilman Craig Stoker, Sept. 26, 2025

10/29/2025

City Manager David Vela has resigned effective Friday — just five months after taking the job and once again taxpayers are left paying the bill.

Mayor Cal Hendrick says it’s for “personal reasons.” Yet taxpayers are footing the bill for four months of severance pay — almost one month of pay for every month he worked.

If someone truly leaves for “personal reasons,” why are we paying them to go with a golden parachute farewell?

That kind of payout raises a serious question: Was this really a resignation… or a quiet dismissal dressed up as one?

The mayor thanked Vela for his “hard work.” But what “hard work” are we talking about?

*A budget and tax-rate debacle that’s now under review by the Texas Attorney General?

*A finance team that provided inaccurate numbers to the public and council?

*Inaccurate and erroneous utility bills that have landed the City (taxpayers) in a class action lawsuit?

By all accounts, Vela seemed like a nice enough guy — polite, professional, approachable. But nice isn’t the same as competent.
Odessa needed stability and strong management, not another costly turnover.

It’s worth noting that Vela’s hire was widely touted by local pundit Ronnie Lewis, who publicly patted the City Council on the back in an April 16, 2025 Odessa American article for hiring a “real city manager.” Now, just five months later, that “real manager” is gone — and taxpayers are stuck with the bill. By the way, Ronnie is now posting that he didn’t really believe Vela was the right choice - which is pretty convenient.

Odessa deserves straight answers — not spin, severance, and silence.

10/14/2025

UPDATE: Despite thousands of signatures in support of renaming Maple to Charlie Kirk Way the Odessa City Council did not list this item on tonight’s agenda. Currently two city council members-Chris Hanie and Greg Connell - support the effort to bring this to the council and in accordance with city council policies asked for Charlie Kirk Way to be discussed.

The latest update is that this agenda item will be added to the November 11th 6pm agenda.

To the best of our knowledge no reason was given for this unprecedented delay in bringing this before the city council.

We will provide updates as they become available.

10/08/2025

Don’t Be Fooled by Craig Stoker’s Charlie Kirk Way “Survey”

Odessa City Council At-Large member Craig Stoker recently rolled out a so-called “survey” on the Charlie Kirk Way rename project — and it’s about as scientific as a high school popularity poll.

He’s using a JotForm link with no verification — no voter validation, no live counters, and no way to prevent people from voting multiple times (after readers reported that they could submit multiple times we tested it — you can submit as many as you want). Yet he’s already posting “official” results as if they’re meaningful data.

And it’s no surprise his numbers look so different from ours. Craig’s followers tend to be a more liberal-leaning group, while our Change.org petition reflects the mainstream, conservative voices of Odessa — the people who actually represent the majority of this community.

Even if his numbers were accurate (which is doubtful), the bias is built in from the start. It’s also likely that outside voices are inflating his totals while simply checking the box that says they live here. And let’s be honest — Charlie Kirk draws strong reactions, especially from those who disagree with his views.

To be fair, we generally like Craig. He’s often the squeakiest wheel on the Council and isn’t afraid to speak up. But this time, it’s clear his “survey” isn’t about genuinely measuring public sentiment — it’s about shaping it.

If you’ve already signed our verified Change.org petition, take a moment to complete his form and make sure Odessa’s true voices are represented. Then share this post so others understand the difference between an open, verifiable petition and an uncontrolled online form.

Our verified petition: https://chng.it/S4psn8KDdF
Craig’s “survey” (use it, but know what it is): https://form.jotform.com/252698195890071

Let’s make sure the facts — and the real people of Odessa — have the final say.

10/03/2025

IF ONLY

When ECISD needed a bond, they put it to the voters. I opposed it at the time, but I respect the process. The voters decided, and I support their decision.

I just received an update: the District sold the last portion of those bonds and—because rates have fallen—they saved taxpayers about $1.6 million over the life of the bonds. Selling in portions instead of all at once was smart. That’s how responsible financing should be done.

If only…
The Ector County Commissioners Court had given us the same chance to vote on their massive $325 million debt.

If only…
They had presented a clear, detailed plan with real public input before asking for approval.

If only…
Upon receiving voter approval the debt had been issued in stages, taking advantage of lower rates as they dropped.

Then…
Taxpayers wouldn’t be stuck paying millions in unnecessary interest on a courthouse project with no design in place.

Then…
Taxpayers might not be staring down the largest tax hike in Ector County history.

But none of that happened. Judge Fawcett pushed this through the Court without the people’s consent—despite voters saying NO multiple times before.

Voters will finally have their say in the March primaries.

Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett

09/27/2025

Update on Charlie Kirk Way Petition

We are excited to share that our petition to rename a street in Odessa Charlie Kirk Way has now received 1,522 signatures – with 73% coming directly from Odessa residents and the rest from nearby communities including Gardendale, Midland, Andrews, and others. This overwhelming support sends a clear message: the people of Odessa are behind this effort. We've also received almost $2,000 in contributions to cover the costs of the new signs, etc.

And let’s be clear — when Murphy Street was renamed to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., there was no citizen petition, no public campaign, and no large-scale community push. The council simply voted it through. By contrast, we are going above and beyond — building this movement from the ground up, collecting thousands of signatures, and showing real community demand.

Next Steps:
We will bring this petition to the Odessa City Council at their next meeting on October 7 in the Council Chambers at City Hall. We need every supporter there to make sure the council sees and hears you. Once the item is officially listed on the agenda, we’ll provide an update so you’ll know exactly when to be in the room.

This should be an easy decision. If the council could move quickly to rename Murphy Street without a petition, then they should move just as quickly to approve Charlie Kirk Way — especially given the overwhelming grassroots support.

Sign and share the petition here: https://c.org/S4psn8KDdF
Contribute to cover the costs of the renaming: https://gofund.me/07b594447

Mark your calendars for October 7 – and join us at City Hall.

Together, we will get this done.

09/16/2025

Help us honor civil debate—without costing taxpayers a dime.
We’re asking the City of Odessa to rename Maple Avenue to Charlie Kirk Way in tribute to the respectful, thoughtful dialogue he’s encouraged on college campuses.

Why Maple? This corridor touches two elementary schools, a junior high, a major high-school crossing, and ends at UT Permian Basin—a daily reminder for students that ideas should be debated, not silenced.

In the spirit of limited government, our goal is to cover 100% of the costs privately. Please:

Sign the petition: https://c.org/y9XVz2gdQ6

Chip in for signs/fees: https://gofund.me/0ed8a87c6

Any excess will support the new TPUSA chapter at Odessa College.

Share this to keep the conversation civil—and local leadership accountable to community support.

09/15/2025

Odessa’s Late Audits Could Trigger New Tax Law Penalty Saving Odessa Taxpayers over $6 Million Dollars

Because of the city’s ongoing failure to file its audits on time, a newly enacted state law may force Odessa to lower its proposed tax rate, saving taxpayers millions of dollars.

Since 1987, Texas municipalities have been required to file their annual financial audits within 180 days of the end of their fiscal year. Senate Bill 1851, which took effect September 1, now establishes a penalty for missing the deadline by giving citizens the power to file a complaint with the Attorney General. If the AG finds a city out of compliance, it may not adopt a property tax rate above the no-new-revenue rate until the audit is filed.

Odessa is one of the Texas cities most vulnerable under this new law. The city has a long track record of late audits. The 2021 and 2022 audits were filed years late, the 2023 audit is still unfinished, and the 2024 audit — covering the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024 — was due in March 2025 but has not been completed. Those delays have already cost the city in the bond market, where two rating agencies pulled Odessa’s bond ratings last year because of the lack of timely financial reporting.

Now a local taxpayer has filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s office under SB 1851, expected to be received early next week. If upheld, Odessa would be forced to adopt the no-new-revenue rate rather than the higher rate it has proposed — a shift that would reduce the city’s anticipated revenue by an estimated $6.3 million and save taxpayers the same amount.

Mayor Cal Hendrick told Headlines that city legal staff advised the Council the law is not retroactive and therefore should not apply to the city’s current rate setting. While it is true the statute does not reopen or adjust prior years’ taxes, it seems clear that the law does apply to the 2026 tax year, which the Council is setting now. To avoid the no-new-revenue cap, Odessa needed to have its 2024 audit completed and filed by March 2025. Because that deadline has passed, the violation is not a matter of punishing old budgets — it is an ongoing failure that directly affects the city’s current tax rate.

The Whitesboro City Council recently faced the same issue. During their tax hearings earlier this month, State Representative Shelly Luther — who voted for SB 1851 — reminded council members that without a timely audit, the law requires them to adopt the no-new-revenue rate. Whitesboro’s council postponed its tax increase vote after her intervention. That example underscores the point that the law is meant to apply now, to current rate setting, not just to future years far down the line.

How the Attorney General rules will decide the matter for Odessa. If the complaint is upheld, the City Council will have to amend its budget to reflect the lower revenue, which city officials warn could mean cuts in services.

The next public hearing on Odessa’s proposed tax rate is set for Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. — an unusual day for a council meeting and potentially a pivotal moment in how this new law plays out locally.

09/13/2025

IF YOU BELIEVE PEOPLE DESERVE TO BE SHOT FOR THEIR OPINIONS, DON’T CRY WHEN YOU GET FIRED FOR YOURS.

In the wake of the assassination of conservative political commentator and activist Charlie Kirk, social media has been flooded with disturbing comments from radical activists celebrating the death of the 31-year-old husband and father. Many openly expressed glee, with many variations of “he got what he deserved.”

Yes, Americans have the right to their own opinions. But when those opinions cross into celebrating political murder, no one should be surprised when their communities push back—especially when those voices belong to the educators entrusted with our children.

Local radio host Spencer Bennett recently highlighted comments allegedly made by Midland ISD teacher Lynette Fields, who, according to reports, laughed and celebrated Kirk’s death in front of her students. Some students confronted her, and she reportedly called Kirk a racist. As a result, Midland ISD has called a special board meeting for September 18, 2025, at 7:30 a.m. One agenda item:

“Consideration and Possible Action to Approve the Recommendation of the Superintendent, as presented, to send notice of Proposed Termination of Term Contract for Good Cause to Lynette Fields.”

Another termination is also listed, though it’s unclear if it is related to the Kirk assassination.

In Odessa, a Headlines reader flagged comments from Linda Garcia, whose profile lists her as an ECISD teacher. Garcia wrote: “May he rot in hell for all that racist evil rhetoric he spewed out. He helped stupid Trump divide our county.”

We also received credible reports of a group of OHS teachers openly celebrating Kirk’s death in the hallway as students changed classes.

The backlash has grown serious enough that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) issued a statement last night condemning “reprehensible and inappropriate content on social media related to the assassination of Charlie Kirk.” The agency announced it is referring documentation of such posts to the Educator Investigation Division, noting that such actions could violate the Educators’ Code of Ethics. TEA further requested that all inappropriate educator posts be submitted for review. MISD Board President Brandon Hodges also released a statement last night stating "I want to be clear: any educator participating and/or championing such behavior will be held accountable under Texas state law and our local policies & standards. Promoting harmful rhetoric while in a position of authority risks crossing into an area of harm. This behavior will not be tolerated."

As a community, Odessans have every right to demand accountability for hateful and vile statements—especially from those charged with educating our children. We are hopeful that ECISD will investigate these incidents thoroughly and take appropriate action. Our city must reject this kind of hate-mongering, wherever it arises.

Odessa Headlines

12/19/2025

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