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Resident urges more Spanish-language voting materials and clarity on tourism duties; communications staff outline outreach and video series
Summary
A resident told Bay City council that online charter-election materials were not available in Spanish and raised concerns about tourism staffing; communications staff responded that bilingual notices and postcards with QR codes will be distributed and said a new communications manager hire and a video campaign are forthcoming.
A member of the public urged Bay City leaders to improve how election and municipal information is posted in Spanish, and to clarify tourism staffing amid uncertainty about who manages tourism duties.
During public comment Jessica Shepherd said she had checked the city’s online materials for the upcoming charter election and could not find Spanish‑language election information; she described clicking through the website and encountering broken links and a “404” error when looking for municipal-elections information. Shepherd also said members of the tourism and hospitality community had told her they did not know who to contact because tourism duties were being split among staff; she identified Samantha Denbow as the communications and cultural arts department head and said tourism responsibilities were being shared among staff including a Main Street manager and cultural-arts staff.
Shepherd also said she had heard rumors — which she reported as rumors during public comment — that city administration had plans to run a smear campaign targeting the Bay City Sentinel and certain community members. She attributed the allegation to what she said she had been told by other employees and members of the public and framed the point as a transparency concern for the council to address.
City communications staff later addressed council during the Communications and Cultural Arts presentation. Samantha (Sam) Dembo (presentation materials in the meeting packet identified the communications office) said a communications plan and materials for the charter election were in development. Staff reported a notice of election will be distributed in both English and Spanish in accordance with code requirements for distribution timelines, and staff described postcards with QR codes that will link to election information including Spanish‑language content. Dembo said a communications‑manager hire was nearing completion and that the department planned a “We Are Bay City, Texas” video series — produced with a local vendor — to highlight city departments; the first video in the series will feature the police department and the series will be used for recruiting and outreach.
Council members later thanked staff for the communications update; staff said they would continue to work on outreach and to provide printed and digital materials in both languages where required.
