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Residents press council for records, accuse member of retaliation; mayor pledges follow‑up

City of Lamarque City Council · January 13, 2026

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Summary

At the Jan. 12 meeting multiple residents and an online commenter alleged patterns of intimidation, misuse of city resources and failures to produce records related to incidents involving a councilmember; the mayor and city manager said staff would follow up and that records requests should be honored within legal limits.

Several people used the city’s three‑minute public comment time on Jan. 12 to urge transparency and to allege misconduct by a councilmember.

Robert Harvey told the council he had physical confrontations with Councilmember Joseph Lowery and his wife at City Hall and accused them of stalking and trying to interfere with his live streams; Harvey said the responding officers reviewed video and did not take action. BZ Wasag, participating online, raised broader allegations of "patterns of retaliation, patterns of intimidation, patterns of weaponizing city resources" against critics of Councilmember Lowery and demanded timely release of records tied to a closed case that produced no charges.

Mayor Keith Bell acknowledged receipt of the complaints and said the city manager and staff "have heard all of those concerns" and would work to resolve them. Council did not take formal disciplinary action at the meeting; several speakers asked for public‑records disclosures (body‑cam footage, 911 calls and incident documentation). Council members and staff repeatedly reminded speakers of the Texas Open Meetings Act and public‑records procedures and said personal personnel matters should be handled with the city manager outside the meeting.

The council did not adjudicate the allegations during the session. Councilmembers requested staff follow up on the records requests and indicated any necessary action or findings would be reported back to the council and public per applicable law.