Follow-Up to My Follow-Up: Commissioners Mueth & Glass

If you haven't read my email to the Ceder Creek Community's Pct. 3 Commissioner Meuth yet, you can read it here first! Its follow-up post can also be read here. Now let's get into the latest post...

Now, let's dive into the latest development. After weeks of extending a cooperative hand, it seems I’ve finally broken through. Commissioner Meuth is now actively emailing me updates on upcoming Commissioners Court agenda items.

Here's what his first letter said:

Yesterday, on August 19th, he dropped another message into my inbox. His first note delivered some jarring news: Pacifico Power planned to attend this coming Monday’s meeting to answer community questions about their proposed data center.

I immediately pushed my other notes aside to address the terrible optics of this plan. Why are we relying on another data center developer to answer our questions? We want answers from our local leadership. If our elected officials don't understand the impacts of these projects, how can we? How are we supposed to trust outside tech companies wishing to pave over our rural communities? But the greatest question I have now is:

A few hours later, as I was drafting my public comment speech for Monday's meeting, another reply from Commissioner Meuth arrived. It was short and sweet:

Meuth: There WILL BE NO presentation by Pacifico at the August 24th Commissioner's Court Meeting.

My reply to Commissioner Mark Meuth:

Mark, what a relief! To be honest, I was absolutely fuming y'all would invite them to answer questions the way Commissioner Glass invited EdgeConneX to host "town halls" back in July. I intended to ask you and the commissioners on Monday if you've learned nothing since then. So I'm thrilled to hear Pacifico will not be attending. That would have looked DISASTEROUS for the Commissioner's Court. Thank you very much for reaching out with this update, and for alleviating my disappointment over that! See you Monday, or tomorrow, if you plan on attending our community-led town hall on Pacifico, specifically. I do hope to see my commissioner there. -Jenai

This back-and-forth got me thinking: how can we channel this energy into helping Kat Hammer win Commissioner Glass’s seat? For those who don't know, Kat is running against Glass as a write-in candidate this November. It’s a steep uphill battle, but a shot well worth taking. "Hammer Breaks Glass" after all!

But what else can we do?

A fellow club member recently sent me an incredibly timely New York Times piece titled "Voters Aren’t Waiting for November to Try Ousting Officials Over Data Centers." The article details a fierce public backlash in Independence, Missouri, where furious residents launched recall petitions against local officials who quietly approved massive tax breaks for a Nebius AI data center. It’s part of a growing national trend of rural and suburban communities organizing against rapid tech expansion due to severe strains on local power grids, massive water consumption, and a total lack of government transparency.

I don't know much about Missouri law, but it made me wonder: What legal options do Bastrop County residents have to remove a commissioner who insists on pushing mega AI developments into our backyards?

Let’s look at the record. Commissioner David Glass has been a vocal cheerleader for Elon Musk’s local empire, routinely sweeping the unique headaches of dealing with fast-moving tech giants under the rug. Glass famously told the press:

"[Musk] really put us on the map, as far as industry goes, and he's really helped open the doors for awareness of Bastrop County, in my view... That awareness has really brought us great deals." -Commissioner David Glass

Put us on the map? Someone should hand the Commissioner a history book. Families have been living, working, and stewarding this land for generations before Musk was a glimmer in his parents' eyes. In fact, many modern Bastrop residents have been here longer than Elon Musk has even been an American citizen (he naturalized in 2002).

If Commissioner Glass needs a quick refresher on just how long Bastrop has been "on the map," here is the actual timeline:

• 1804: Spanish Governor Manuel Antonio Cordero y Bustamante established the Puesta del Colorado military fort at our historic Colorado River crossing along El Camino Real.

• 1827–1829: True colonization began when pioneers settled Stephen F. Austin’s "Little Colony."

• 1832: The town was officially platted and named Bastrop to honor the Baron de Bastrop, the Dutch-born diplomat who helped the Austins secure their early Texas land grants.

• 1837: Following Texas independence, the Republic of Texas officially incorporated Bastrop County as one of its original ten counties.

Back in December 2024, Commissioner Glass passionately stumped for a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) tax exemption for SpaceX’s 1209 manufacturing facility, boasting about its economic footprint:

"Right now, they've got about 900 employees out there. By the end of next year, they may have 1,200-1,500 employees. I think their tax base is around $900 million currently. So, they've been a great community company to come to Bastrop County and a great resource for us." -Commissioner Glass

Where exactly are those community resources? Because from where rural Bastropians are sitting—especially in western Bastrop County—nothing has changed for the better. Our rural roadways are torn to shreds by heavy industrial equipment, commuting times have tripled due to traffic, and local prices have steadily climbed.

To top it off, when asked about the chaotic, unpredictable timelines of Musk's corporate projects (SpaceX, The Boring Company, and X), Glass told the media:

"The priorities really move. Sometimes it's frustrating for us as officials, but we're there to support in what we can." -Glass

Let’s stop right there. Who exactly is an elected official supposed to support? Where in the Texas Local Government Code does it state that a commissioner's primary job is to act as a concierge for billionaire developers? They take an oath to represent the constituents who vote them into office, not out-of-state tech executives. The community’s outrage is palpable, and Glass deserves to feel every bit of it.

So here's what we have to do about Commissioner Glass going forward:

First, we need to look up the Texas Laws on removing a county commissioner from their seat. The answer is: Yes, Texas law establishes a standard, non-election course of action to remove a sitting county commissioner through a judicial trial process, as detailed under Article 5, Section 24 of the Texas Constitution and Chapter 87 of the Texas Local Government Code.

THE ⚖️ LEGAL GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL EXPLAINED:

To launch a removal suit, a county resident must file a sworn petition in a district court proving one of three strict statutory grounds:

1. Incompetency: Defined as gross ignorance, severe neglect of official duties, or a failure to maintain fitness for office. Crucially, this includes failing to complete the mandatory continuing education hours required annually for county commissioners. (Rest assured, we will be looking up his official state education logs.)

2. Official Misconduct: Intentional, unlawful behavior relating to official duties. While this usually covers corruption or extortion, a skilled attorney could argue whether willfully ignoring open-record mandates or abandoning the explicit duties of representation constitutes a violation of oath.

3. Habitual Drunkenness: Frequent intoxication, on or off the clock. (Likely not applicable here, but on the books nonetheless.)

Once our legal groundwork is fully aligned with Chapter 87, our next move is clear. We will draft a formal petition demanding Commissioner Glass’s immediate resignation, presenting him with a clear choice: step down with dignity, or face a public, state-prosecuted judicial trial before an outside judge and a civil jury.

There is no sense dragging out a political brawl when we can achieve a clean victory through the proper legal channels.

Instead of asking the County Commissioners Court if they've learned nothing from when Commissioner Glass invited EdgeConneX to host our "town halls," I'll instead be addressing the Court with a single proposal. One that includes the County Commissioners Court signing on to a County-Wide letter, calling for the legislature to permanently zone unincorporated land; the Texas Legislature must pass an amendment to Chapter 231 of the Texas Local Government Code. It will take all five Commissioners Court members, and as many Bastropian signatures as we can get! We should encourage other counties to join us by creating their own county-wide demands.

• Currently, the legislature only grants rare zoning powers to specific counties near military bases, lakes, or airports. This definitely should apply to massive data center campuses as well.

• Hood County is the only county in Texas history to be granted broad, general land-use and zoning authority by the state legislature. If Hood County can have that power, so can Bastrop!

• The Texas Association of Counties is actively pushing for new state legislation to give local county judges and commissioners a formal voice in data center placement. This is why a joint-effort call to action from the entire county of Bastrop is so Important!

We can do this. We can do it all! We just have to give individual tasks to our members that they can investigate and report back their findings. (Such as Glass's continuing education record.) We need to seek out our local lawyers who will be glad to check our work and even participate in these efforts. Once we have sound legal reasoning behind demanding Glass's resignation and an agreement from the Bastrop County Commissioners' Court to join the whole of the county in demanding more power... we should be good to go!

Now let's get to work!