Mesquite council adds City Attorney performance discussion to May 27 agenda after public complaint

Councilmembers voted to add discussion and possible action concerning the performance of City Attorney Michael Branham to the City Council agenda for the Tuesday, May 27, 2025, meeting.

The motion to add the item was made during the City of Mesquite Technical Review Meeting on May 20 by Councilman Parrish and was seconded by Councilwoman Fielding. The presiding official called for a vote and the item was moved to the regular agenda for the May 27 meeting.

The action followed a public comment from resident Wes Bulger, who said he had obtained an email through a public information request that he described as an exchange involving “Mr. Dickey” and “Mr. Bridal” and containing a line he attributed to City Attorney Michael Branham. Bulger said the line read, in his account, that “oddly, if you hired a black woman from Louisiana, it would actually be a DEI hire from Mesquite.” Bulger also told the council he had observed Branham “condescending” to elected officials and staff and said he hoped the council would call a special meeting to “take care of this problem.”

“I wrote a couple of things down, but, here's an email that I received through a public information request … where Mr. Branham says, every time I teach a class at PD, I tell them to assume they're always being recorded,” Bulger said during his three-minute public comment. He later added, “I wonder when he means DEI, is it hiring a woman is DEI or is it just black women that's DEI? That's what I wanna know.”

Council members discussed placing the matter on the next full council agenda rather than on the consent calendar; the meeting record shows the item was moved to the regular agenda for Tuesday, May 27. The meeting did not include a staff presentation, investigation report, or any formal disciplinary action against the City Attorney on May 20.

The public commenter also referenced a judicial order; he said Branham “ignored the female judge's order to not have that agenda item,” but did not identify the judge or provide a copy of the order during the meeting. The council did not at the May 20 meeting take any further action beyond scheduling the agenda item for May 27.

Bulger told council members he had forwarded the email to Councilwoman Gallo and offered to provide the documents to other members after the meeting. No councilmember recorded a vote in the transcript excerpt beyond the motion and second to add the item to next week's agenda.

The May 27 regular City Council meeting agenda will include the discussion and possible action concerning Michael Branham's performance; the transcript provides no additional detail about materials to be presented or any timeline for staff follow-up.