Westworth Is Watching

Who does the mayor work for?

We're your neighbors in Westworth Village. We read the agendas, file the records requests, and show up to the meetings — so decisions about our town get made in front of us, not behind closed doors.

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On the record

What happened

MAY 2, 2026

An election decided by 15, 24, and 2 votes

Three council seats were on the ballot. Place 2 was decided by 15 votes, Place 3 by about 24, and Place 4 by just 2. That same day, pastry boxes carrying campaign flyers showed up on doorsteps around the village — remember that detail. The election, in full.

MAY 16, 2026

A councilman arrested over pastries

Council Member Halden Griffith was arrested on a felony bribery allegation for delivering those pastry boxes, after the mayor reported him to police. The Star-Telegram later reported the Tarrant County DA would not pursue charges. Pastry Gate, start to finish.

JUN 18, 2026

City money for legal fees — on the mayor's tie-break

In a special session, the council voted to reimburse Council Member Fitzgerald's legal fees in the lawsuit contesting his 2-vote win. The vote tied 2–2; Mayor Jones broke the tie. Texas Attorney General opinions from 1987 and 1997 say public money can never pay an official's legal fees in an election contest — the 1997 opinion says never, "as a matter of law." The same night, the council made its board appointments — taking the man who filed that lawsuit off the P&Z Commission. Read our notes from that night.

JUL 14, 2026

Three more P&Z members removed — including the chair

With appointments already settled in June, the council removed three sitting P&Z members mid-term — among them the commission's chair, who had weeks earlier run against an incumbent — per the roster records provided by the city administrator. In one month, six of the commission's seven seats changed hands. Read our notes.


Our standard

What we can prove — and what we think

Documented

  • The June 18 minutes: legal fees approved 3–2 on the mayor's tie-breaking vote, with Fitzgerald recused
  • Attorney General opinions JM-685 and DM-431, in the AG's own words (linked below), which show that it is improper for the city to pay Robert Fitzgerald's legal fees
  • Roster records showing six of seven P&Z seats changed hands between June 18 and July 14 — including the mid-term removal of the commission's chair
  • The Griffith arrest, reported by the Fort Worth Report, KERA, WFAA, and CBS Texas
  • Cumberland Rest, Inc.'s tax-exempt status and its purchase of the 27-acre Kite Farm for a project reported at $350 million

Labeled opinion

  • Whether these actions were taken to clear a path for the Trinity Terrace rezoning is our speculation — but with the project still alive, it's a question every resident should be asking.
  • It is our understanding that a PILOT program (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) has never been a written agreement, just the potential to discuss a PILOT.
  • It's fair to question why the mayor is fighting so hard for a project that appears to be bad for our city, most of our residents don't want, and has already failed a rezoning request once.

The full story

Catch up by topic

Our Village

What Westworth Village is, how it's governed, and why the little land we have left matters so much.

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Trinity Terrace

A tax-exempt nonprofit's $350 million project on the village's biggest remaining tract — and the rezoning fight behind almost everything else on this site.

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The May 2 Election

Three council seats decided by 15, 24, and 2 votes — and the lawsuit now contesting the closest one, with city money involved.

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Misuse of Public Funds

The council voted to pay a member's legal fees in his own election contest — something the Texas Attorney General has said, twice, that public money can never do.

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Planning & Zoning

The commission that takes the first vote on every rezoning — and how six of its seven seats changed hands in under a month.

Read →

Pastry Gate

A councilman arrested over pastry boxes, a bribery case the DA reportedly wouldn't take, and a retraction that never came.

Read →

Read it yourself

The documents

VIDEO Meeting video archive — our YouTube channel We record and archive council meetings ourselves, so the video stays available.
MINUTES July 14, 2026 agenda packet — includes the June 9 and June 18 minutes The legal-fees vote, the walkout, and the P&Z replacements, in the city's own record.
AGENDA June 18, 2026 special session agenda
PRODUCED Committee rosters, before and after — June 19 vs. July 15, 2026 Provided by the city administrator. Every board seat, side by side — see the P&Z changes for yourself.
AG OPINION DM-431 (1997) — election-contest legal fees prohibited "as a matter of law"
AG OPINION JM-685 (1987) — public funds may not serve "the purely personal interests" of an official
AG OPINION GA-0104 (2003) — reimbursing a trustee's legal expenses arising from an election contest
NEWS Fort Worth Report — "Can pastries pop over into bribes?" Also covered by KERA, WFAA, and CBS Texas.
NONPROFIT Cumberland Rest, Inc. — IRS filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer 501(c)(3) since 1943. Revenue of $52.45 million in fiscal 2024.
ORDINANCE Westworth Village Code — Planning & Zoning Commission Membership, terms, and removal rules, in the city's own code.
AGENDAS City agenda center — cityofwestworth.com Every agenda and packet, straight from the source.
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The part that matters most

Show up

Next council meeting: Tue, Aug 11 · 7:00 PM

Council Chambers, Municipal Complex — 311 Burton Hill Road. The council meets the second Tuesday of every month. Citizen comments are at the start of every meeting. You don't have to speak. A full room speaks for itself.

Come early and eat first: neighbors are meeting for dinner at Salsa Limón, 5012 White Settlement Rd, 5:30–6:45 PM before the meeting. Come say hi, compare notes, and we'll head to the council chambers together.