'Half of us get periods': Battle brews in Kemah between mayor, councilwoman

KEMAH, Texas – In Kemah, which is home to about 2,000 full-time residents but also millions of visitors every year, an argument between the mayor and a city councilwoman about "female issues" is the talk of the town.

The argument revolves around a July 2018 city council meeting in which all but two council members were absent. A man hired to give a presentation to council that day billed the city $800.

Mayor Carl Joiner said he suspected two council members lied about why they missed the meeting, so he asked them. Matt Wiggins, the mayor said, reported that he was at a work meeting.

WATCH: See the full Kemah city council meeting

Councilwoman Teresa Vasquez-Evans said she was "sick that week," according to emails given to KPRC. At the most recent Kemah City Council meeting, Joiner admitted he conducted an open records request through a personal attorney for Evans personal attendance records at her day job because he didn't believe her excuse.

There is no state or city ordinance that requires Kemah City Council members to explain their absences. Everyone on the council is an unpaid volunteer.

"I'm sorry, excuse me, what did you say?" Vasquez-Evans can be heard in a video of the most recent council meeting.

"On your time sheet, you said you were," the mayor started. "On my time sheet?" Evans interrupted. "You contacted my employer and looked at my time sheet?"

"My complaint against the mayor is that Mayor Carl Joiner has grossly overstepped his authority," Vasquez-Evans said in an interview.

Time sheets for Vasquez-Evans requested by Joiner through an open records request show that she was at work the week of the meeting.

Text messages shared with KPRC show the city attorney asked Vasquez-Evans about attending the meeting around 2:30pm, and she responded that she would not make it.

Vasquez-Evans said not only was she at work, she put in "far more" hours than the 40 hours listed. But she was also sick.

"It was very personal in nature, but any woman out there, any woman out there knows what I'm talking about," Vasquez-Evans said.

Vasquez-Evans told the mayor what she was dealing with before making a records request, emails show.

"I was in not in a condition after working very long days to continue to sit through another meeting when I'm in pain, and I'm exhausted, and I'm anemic," she said.

The mayor said he doesn't believe the councilwoman and said he is the one being harassed.

Agenda records show other council members placed an item on the agenda to discuss the July meeting several times this year.

The agenda item that prompted the discussion last week, which was added by council member Wiggins, was titled, in part: “Discussions, consideration and possible action to authorize the mayor to overstep the duties of the office of the mayor to discriminate and harass other city officials.”

The mayor said he believes Vasquez-Evans is part of a group of council members trying to sabotage his re-election campaign with smears.

"The only thing you've got is your reputation, and they are trying to destroy mine," the mayor said. "All so they can get my opponent elected. I think that's sad."

The mayor said the July 2018 meeting was not a big deal until several council members demanded he foot the $800 bill for a presenter who attended the meeting that ultimately had to be canceled, because there was no quorum.

The video of the council meeting was recorded and posted to YouTube by a woman who said she was paid to record the meetings by Wiggins, one of the council members the mayor accuses of conspiring against him.

“I mean this whole video was a setup, to hurt me,” the mayor said. “But I’m hoping it might go the other way.”

Vasquez-Evans said the accusation that she is conspiring to block the mayor’s re-election is baseless.

"(The mayor) is upset with me because I don't represent his agenda," Vasquez-Evans said. "I represent the people of Kemah, and they are the working families of Kemah, and you know what, half of us get periods, and Carl doesn't understand that."