Thursday, October 1, 2026
Granbury’s mayor and three council members publicly defended themselves against recall petitions for the first time Sept. 28, facing residents who urged them to resign or offer “absolute, unvarnished honesty.” All four said they would stay.
Considerably more than half the audience walked out during Councilmember Skip Overdier’s testimony, the second of the four, some shouting “Shame!” The council briefly paused, then continued before a much smaller audience whose applause made clear most remaining attendees supported the petitioned officials.
The hearing marked the latest step in a recall effort fueled by opposition to the proposed Project Patriot data center and power-generation campus at Knox Ranch and allegations surrounding officials’ handling of it. Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Wadley, also targeted, was absent on a previously scheduled family trip, Mayor Jim Jarratt said.
Before officials spoke, residents described broken trust and fears that economic development was taking precedence to the community’s interests.
Rachel Jacobson’s call for resignations and honesty congealed the recall-seekers’ hope for the hearing.
“Tonight, I implore you to give this to the community, give them something that we have not seen from you in a long time — absolute, unvarnished honesty,” Jacobson said.
Jacob Herbold, too, accused officials of failing to deliver the transparency they promised while campaigning. But two other speakers offered different perspectives. Sally Walker said she believed she’d signed a petition seeking information about data centers, not anyone’s removal, an implicit accusation that circulators copied signatures onto the recall petitions.
Hood County Commissioner Dave Eagle, defending Jarratt’s conservative record, said Jarratt should stay, mainly to keep a quorum — and the city functioning — if several seats became vacant, he said.
The city rejected the petitions July 28, citing insufficient valid signatures and allegations it considered too vague. After organizers challenged that decision in court, the city agreed in August to present the petitions to the council. City Secretary Carla Walker certified them, and council members received them Sept. 8, according to City Attorney Jeremy SoRelle. The officials requested hearings to defend themselves Sept. 15.
Summarized, the recall petitions accused them of: violating the Texas Open Meetings Act; engaging in “contract zoning” at Knox Ranch; favoring private investors instead of residents’ health and safety; failing to represent constituents; approving land entitlements without adequate public notice; and continuing approvals without proper due diligence.
The first to testify, Jarratt challenged the petitions’ signatures and the specificity of the allegations. He claimed some signers were ineligible or unaware they were supporting recalls, echoing Walker’s claim. He denied ever having violated the Texas Open Meetings Act and questioned why what he called “identical” signature pages appeared in multiple petitions.
“I intend to serve my entire term. I will not resign,” he said.
Overdier offered a similar defense, arguing the allegations lacked details he could meaningfully answer. He denied open-meetings violations and said a court, rather than the council, must determine his petition’s validity.
Overdier later would say the hearing “went fine,” attributing the departures during his speech to attendees’ disappointment officials would not resign.
Councilmember Zeb Ullom addressed each allegation in turn, denying wrongdoing and arguing the Knox Ranch annexation allowed the city to impose safeguards on future development. He accused petition organizers of targeting officials for their votes instead of any substantiated misconduct, using the Open Meetings Act violation alleged in the petition as an example.
“If you were to believe the stories on social media that this alleged violation of the Open Meetings Act occurred on the data center tour in Irving, then why isn’t Councilwoman Parker named? Councilwoman Parker has been with the council every step of the way since taking office,” Ullom said. “The answer is because she voted the way they wanted her to when she voted in opposition of the rezoning of the property we call Knox Ranch, and it has nothing to do with an alleged illegal quorum.”
Councilmember Greg Corrigan, who is not seeking reelection, said he initially intended to resign but would finish his term. He rejected the allegations as unsupported and compared them to accusing a referee of cheating because someone disagreed with a call.
Afterward, incoming Place 6 Councilmember Alex Wolf, who will replace Corrigan, said the officials’ legal arguments missed residents’ underlying concerns.
“Whatever needs to happen, the people are upset for a reason,” Wolf said. “They should address what that reason is.”
Officials should have discussed how to reach agreement on the city’s direction on Project Patriot instead of focusing on whether the accusations met legal requirements, Wolf said.
Julia Pannell, a community leader and former longtime chair of Friends of Memorial Lane, supported the officials and criticized those who left.
“This tears my heart,” she said, arguing many critics attend city council meetings only when they have something to say. “They didn’t show them the respect of listening.”
Those who departed gave different reasons for walking out.
Herbold, a leading recall advocate who lives beside the proposed site along Meadow Wood Road, said by text he left when Overdier sounded like he was repeating Jarratt’s statement.
“I was missing soccer practice for the teams I coach and it seemed like a waste of time at that point,” he wrote, adding he would watch the recording later.
Eagle simply said “everybody was walking out,” so he did, and that he had come to speak for Jarratt.
“Citizens were pleading to be heard, and the response felt impersonal and disconnected from the frustration in the room,” Kolton Krottinger, Hood County Republican party precinct chair, said after the meeting. “Trust breaks down when residents believe decisions are being made behind closed doors and their voices no longer matter. Nothing I heard tonight gave me confidence that this council understands how much trust it has lost.”
SoRelle previously identified Oct. 6 as the deadline for officials to resign or the council to order a recall election. He has said a vote must wait until May; petitioners’ attorney Art Martinez de Vara has argued a court could require an earlier election.
