By Edmond Ortiz
Kirby City Council will meet at 7 p.m. April 6 to mull whether to oust first-term member Susan Street for allegedly violating part of the city charter.
What you should know
Council met March 25 to weigh removing Street based upon the findings of an investigation conducted by City Manager Brian Rowland.
The council agenda refers to an alleged charter violation, but no specifics have been revealed to the general public.
However, after more than one dozen residents spoke at the meeting to defend Street, council held a closed door session only to return and announce that a vote to remove Street would be delayed until April 6.
Street’s defenders said she is daring enough to ask tough questions and call attention to questionable budgetary matters or difficult longstanding issues.
Some residents called Street a watchdog of the city’s finances, and accused the rest of the council of failing to be accountable to residents’ needs and requests or addressing basic priorities, such as keeping pace with street problems and public safety.
What they are saying
Bonny Badour was among a few residents who said the council was taking improper action in removing Street.
The city’s code of ordinances contains a section regarding a council member’s reprimand or expulsion from a meeting, mainly for disruptive behavior. But the same document does not prescribe requirements for a council member’s removal.
Critics in the audience also said council’s removal unilaterally overturns Street’s election; an educator by trade, Street was first elected to council in 2021 and re-elected in 2023 and 2025.
Badour said it seemed to her that Street was being punished for posing critical questions or speaking her mind on delicate issues.
“(Street) was not elected to be a minion occupying a seat. She knows her stuff, and she does her research,” she added.
Other residents claimed Rowland, who investigated the allegations against Street, has amassed too much influence over the council.
Residents such as Ernest Spradling, a former council member and police officer, also complained that Street has at least tried proposing solutions or offering necessary perspectives or queries while other council members fight with each other with no resolution on vital issues.
“All the arguing, all the fighting, we just need to stop,” Spradling said.
