NOTICE: City offices were described at the June 17, 2025 meeting as open “Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 9 to 5.” Office hours are set by the City Administrator (Ord. 2023-05-31.1, Sec. 6(K)).
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Meet Your Officials

Hawk Cove is a small town with a lot of public record. Here are the people who hold, or have held, City office, introduced by that record.

About These Profiles

Each profile covers the office, not the person: titles held and when, how the office was filled and what we know of its pay, motions, votes, signatures, and words spoken at public meetings. Every line links to its record.

  • Meeting quotes come from the meeting video or the transcripts on this site, at the time shown. The video is the record.
  • Court and criminal matters are stated the way the court record or the news report states them, and credited. Being charged is not being convicted. If we hold no record of how a matter ended, we say so.
  • Elected officials are named. Appointed officers are listed by title, as everywhere else on this site. Where one office has had more than one holder, the profile is of the office.
  • We do not profile City employees outside these offices.
Seats are as of October 2026, from the council table. When we find a newer record, this page changes.

Darren Evans, Mayor

Mayor Last elected May 2, 2026, unopposed

The Mayor presides at Council meetings and votes only to break a tie (Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code §22.037(a)). By ordinance, “The Mayor shall not initiate, oversee, manage, or regulate the day-to-day operations of the City” (Ord. No. 04-102). Mr. Evans has held the office twice. On the record he has also held three other titles.

Titles held

  • Mayor, 2023–2024. The minutes show “MAYOR DARREN EVANS” calling the May 15, May 25 and May 31, 2023 meetings to order (May 15; May 25; May 31). He was still Mayor at the May 21, 2024 meeting, according to the Herald-Banner.
  • Former Mayor, November 2024. eExtra News called him “former Mayor Darren Evans” (Nov. 21, 2024). His sworn petition that month speaks of “my former duties as Mayor” (Cause No. 94315, p. 25; see Legal matters).
  • Financial Consultant for the City, November 2024. In the same petition he swore to facts known “in my present official capacity as a resident voting citizen and Financial Consultant for The City of Hawk Cove, Texas” (Cause No. 94315, p. 25; see Who Does What).
  • Mayor again, 2026. Elected May 2, 2026. The Mayor’s race is not among the contested Hawk Cove races in the Herald-Banner’s April 6, 2026 preview; at the May 19, 2026 canvass he was read as the only candidate for Mayor (council table).
  • Consultant, while Mayor. “…a consultant, not a contractor.” (Sept. 28, 2026 special session, 0:32:58)
  • Municipal Judge, while Mayor. “As judge I do not take salary because I donate my time to the city.” (same meeting, 0:33:18). At the same meeting the City Attorney called him “Your Honor” and “the Chief Budget Officer for the City of Hawk Cove” (Who Does What).

Appointment and pay

  • Mayor is an elected office (Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code §22.031(b)). We hold no record setting pay for the office.
  • As judge, in his words, no salary (0:33:18). We hold no record of any pay as Financial Consultant or consultant.

On the record

  • May 25, 2023. Presided as the Council approved the City’s agreements with twelve positions and vendors, among them the Municipal Judge, City Administrator, Chief Financial Officer, City Secretary and City Attorney/Prosecutor. Each time, “MAYOR DARREN EVANS ENTERTAINED A MOTION” (minutes, p. 4; p. 5).
  • May 31, 2023. Presided as the Council approved nine ordinances, including the ones on the City Administrator’s powers and what Council members may not do (minutes, pp. 4–6). Our copies of those ordinances are unsigned and the adoption date is blank.
  • September 9, 2023. With one Council member present: “Because this requires an act, and we do not have a quorum at this time, then I must, in accordance with the tax code, section 26.05, produce a tax rate in accordance with the tax code in sufficient time for publication” (0:04:26), and “This meeting is adjourned at 4:10 on September 9, 2023” (0:08:36) (Finances).
  • May 21, 2024. “Mayor Darren Evans ended the meeting early,” according to the Herald-Banner (May 22, 2024).
  • May 19, 2026. Told the Council it was “in receipt of the fiscal year 2024 audit and the fiscal year 2025 audit,” and that “council cannot distribute the audits” (meeting video; Audits).
  • July 21, 2026. Gave the agenda’s informational presentation on trash billing, saying the contract’s overages “were not coming from those rates but coming from the … city coffers” and “there may be some increases” (meeting video). No motion was made (Fee Schedule).
  • FY2027 budget. Signed the “FY2027 AMENDED PROPOSED MUNICIPAL BUDGET,” date line blank (pages held). Its adoption record is empty (Finances).
  • September 22, 2026. “I will unilaterally adjourn this meeting, as is my right and presiding officer.” (0:50:09)
  • October 20, 2026. Told “Mayor, you’re off agenda,” he replied, “I am not off agenda” (meeting video; City News).

Legal matters

  • Petitioner, with former Council member Amanda Bodiford, in Cause No. 94315, the November 2024 petition to remove three City officials. Dismissed as moot May 8, 2026. Details below.

Delores Spence, Former Mayor

Mayor, on the records of November 2024 through September 2025

Delores Spence was the Mayor in office between Mr. Evans’s two terms. She signed the September 30, 2025 tax-rate order as “Delores Spence, Mayor” (the order). The November 2024 petition in Cause No. 94315 names her “DELORES MARLOW SPENCE”; the City’s 2017 canvass minutes and the Herald-Banner call her “Dotty Spence.”

Titles held

  • Candidate for Mayor, May 6, 2017. Listed as “Dotty Spence” in the canvass: 1 early vote and 30 on election day, to 7 and 71 for the winner (canvass minutes, May 17, 2017).
  • Council Place 5, then Mayor, 2023–2024. The November 2024 petition says she served as Place 5 from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024, and as Mayor “From and after May 31, 2024” (Cause No. 94315, petition, p. 2; that is the petitioners’ sworn account).
  • Council member, May 2024. One of three council members who, according to the Herald-Banner (May 22, 2024), “refused to comply with the call to order and left their seats” at the May 21, 2024 meeting.
  • Mayor, November 2024. Named in Cause No. 94315 as “DELORES MARLOW SPENCE, CITY OF HAWK COVE, TEXAS, CITY COUNCIL MAYOR” (petition, p. 1), and as Mayor by eExtra News and the Herald-Banner.
  • Mayor, August–September 2025. See the budget and the tax-rate order below.
  • Candidate for Council Place 2, May 2, 2026. Received 48 votes to 55, unofficial count (Herald-Banner).

On the record

  • August 30, 2025. The amended FY2025–26 budget is “prepared by the Mayor,” with the Mayor’s budget notes (budget; notes).
  • September 30, 2025. Signed, as “Delores Spence, Mayor,” Order No. 2025-09-___.01, which recites that the Council “did not adopt a fiscal year 2025-2026 property tax rate” and sets $0.774139 per $100 (the order; Finances).

Legal matters

  • November 2024, Open Meetings Act charges. Charged, as Mayor, with one count of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act and one count of conspiracy to circumvent it, according to eExtra News (Nov. 21, 2024) and the Herald-Banner (Nov. 22, 2024). Both report that the charges came from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Charged is not convicted. We hold no court record of how the charges ended.
  • Cause No. 94315. Respondent in the November 2024 petition for removal from office. Dismissed as moot May 8, 2026. Details below.

The Council

Five Council Places, elected at large (Government). What the Council’s own ordinances say its members may not do is at What Council Members Are Not Allowed to Do. It is a long list. They are introduced here by Place.

Rebecca Bernardi, Council Place 1

Council Place 1 Last elected May 3, 2025

Titles held

On the record

  • May 21, 2024. One of three council members who “refused to comply with the call to order and left their seats,” according to the Herald-Banner.
  • October 21, 2025. Asked the City Attorney for “a copy of your statement” (transcript, 0:14:07). The answer: “I will not be supplying a copy” (0:15:05).
  • July 21, 2026. On the $10 billing fee: “There was no notice given to the citizens” and “I’m requesting that on the next agenda we take action to have that $10 removed” (meeting video, 18:18; Fee Schedule).
  • September 22, 2026. “We don’t have an audit. We’ve never received an audit” (meeting video; Audits).
  • September 28, 2026. “We should not be paying an extra $10 in our garbage service,” and she had “asked for that $10 fee to be brought before council for a decision” (meeting video, 27:12). We have not found the fee on a later agenda.
  • September 30, 2026. “A county tax order is not the same legal instrument as a city council ordinance” (0:40:37), and of the 2025 order, “It was signed off in City Hall without council’s knowledge” (0:45:12). Those are her statements. We have not seen a record that settles them either way (Finances).

Legal matters

  • November 2024, Open Meetings Act charges. Charged, as Council Place 1, with one count of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act and one count of conspiracy to circumvent it, according to eExtra News (Nov. 21, 2024) and the Herald-Banner (Nov. 22, 2024). Both report that the charges came from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Charged is not convicted. We hold no court record of how the charges ended.
  • Cause No. 94315. Respondent in the November 2024 petition for removal from office. Dismissed as moot May 8, 2026. Details below.

Kenneth Cork, Council Place 2

Council Place 2 Elected May 2, 2026

Titles held

On the record

  • September 23, 2026. Asked who performed the City’s audit, he told the Council that state law “permits a person regularly employed by the municipality to perform its annual audit. Our CFO is a person regularly employed by the city” (special session, 0:29:07). The law does allow it (Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code §103.002). We have not seen the audit (Audits).

Brandy Vahl, Council Place 3

Council Place 3 Last elected May 3, 2025, unopposed

Titles held

On the record

  • Place 3 has not yet been quoted on this site. We are still posting meetings.

Henry Butcher, Council Place 4

Council Place 4 Elected May 2, 2026

Titles held

On the record

  • Place 4 has not yet been quoted on this site. We are still posting meetings.

Sherry Logan, Council Place 5

Council Place 5 Last elected May 3, 2025

Titles held

On the record

  • Place 5 has not yet been quoted on this site. We are still posting meetings.

Mark Beatte, former Council Place 4

Council Place 4, 2024

Titles held

  • Council Place 4, November 2024. Named “CITY OF HAWK COVE, TEXAS, CITY COUNCIL PLACE 4” in Cause No. 94315 (petition, p. 1; order of May 8, 2026). The court’s case summary lists the style with “CITY COUNCIL PLACE 5.” We go with the petition and the order.

On the record

  • May 21, 2024. One of three council members who “refused to comply with the call to order and left their seats,” according to the Herald-Banner.

Legal matters

  • November 2024, Open Meetings Act charges. Charged, as Council Place 4, with one count of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act and one count of conspiracy to circumvent it, according to eExtra News (Nov. 21, 2024) and the Herald-Banner (Nov. 22, 2024). Both report that the charges came from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Charged is not convicted. We hold no court record of how the charges ended.
  • Cause No. 94315. Respondent in the November 2024 petition for removal from office. Dismissed as moot May 8, 2026. Details below.

Amanda Bodiford, former Council member

Council member, 2023 Council Place 4 from May 31, 2023

Titles held

  • Council member, May 2023. Present at roll call on May 25, 2023 (minutes, p. 1).
  • Council Place 4, from May 31, 2023. After the Council accepted “THE RESIGNATION OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBER PLACE 4,” it filled the vacancy “AS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER PLACE 4, AMANDA BODIFORD, NOMINATED BY LEETTA GOOLSBY IN HER RESIGNATION.” Three members voted aye; the minutes record one abstention (minutes, p. 6; p. 7).
  • Council member, September 2023. The only Council member to answer “here” at the September 9, 2023 special session (Finances).
  • Former Council member, November 2024 (eExtra News). Candidate for Council Place 5, May 3, 2025: 30 votes to 41 (Herald-Banner).

On the record

  • May 25, 2023. Made the motion to approve the City’s agreement with the City Administrator, and seconded the agreements with the Municipal Judge, the Chief Financial Officer, the Utility Supervisor and the City Attorney/Prosecutor, and the fire and rescue extension (minutes, p. 4; p. 5). Seconded the first, later revisited, Mayor Pro Tem appointment (p. 2).
  • May 31, 2023. Made the motions to approve the ordinance “GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBERS’ INTERACTIONS WITH CITY ADMINISTRATION, STAFF AND EMPLOYEES” and the ordinance “GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBERS COMMUNICATIONS WITH VENDORS, CONTRACTORS, AND REPRESENTATIVES,” and seconded the one on candidates’ qualifications and the oath of office (minutes, p. 5; p. 6). Then moved to adjourn (p. 7). The ordinances by those titles are 2023-05-31.3, 2023-05-31.4 and 2023-05-31.9 in our library.

Legal matters

  • Petitioner, with Darren Evans, in Cause No. 94315. Dismissed as moot May 8, 2026. Details below.

The May 2023 Council

Who moved what, at the two meetings where the City’s twelve agreements and nine ordinances were approved, as the minutes record it. The minutes give no Place numbers for these members, except for the Place 4 vacancy. Every motion below carried with “ALL MEMBERS PRESENT” in agreement unless noted.

Council memberMay 25, 2023 (minutes)May 31, 2023 (minutes)
Stephanie BishopMoved: agreements with the Wastewater Plant Operator, the CFO, the Utility Clerk and GeoThematics. Seconded: City Secretary, Public Works Director, Facilities Custodian, and the revisited Mayor Pro Tem (pp. 2, 4–5).Moved: the police department ordinance and the candidate qualifications and oath ordinance. Seconded: the vendors ordinance. Voted aye to fill Place 4 (pp. 4–7).
Tiffany TaylorAppointed Mayor Pro Tem on the revisited motion. Moved: the first Mayor Pro Tem appointment, the fire and rescue extension, and agreements with the Municipal Judge, the City Attorney/Prosecutor, the Public Works Director and the Facilities Custodian. Seconded: Wastewater Plant Operator, GeoThematics (pp. 2, 4–5).Moved: the agenda authority ordinance, the sewer plan ordinance, the records and information ordinance, and filling Place 4. Seconded: the police department, staff interactions and sewer rates ordinances, and the Place 4 resignation (pp. 4–7).
Roger VanceMoved: the revisited Mayor Pro Tem appointment. Seconded: agreements with the Municipal Court Clerk and the City Administrator (pp. 2, 4).Moved: accepting the Place 4 resignation. Seconded: the City Administrator ordinance, the sewer plan ordinance, the records and information ordinance, filling Place 4, and adjournment (pp. 4–7).
Leetta GoolsbyNominated for Mayor Pro Tem and voted nay on her own appointment, which passed 4–1 before the item was revisited. Moved: agreements with the Municipal Court Clerk, the City Secretary and the Utility Supervisor. Seconded: Utility Clerk (pp. 2, 4–5).Moved: the City Administrator ordinance and the sewer rates ordinance. Seconded: the agenda authority ordinance. Her Place 4 seat was then filled by a nominee “NOMINATED BY LEETTA GOOLSBY IN HER RESIGNATION” (pp. 4–7).
Amanda BodifordSee her profile above.
The minutes describe the ordinances by title only; we matched them to the copies in our ordinance library by title. Our copies are unsigned and the adoption date is blank. The May 25 agreements themselves are not posted here.

City Administration

The ordinance lists the offices: “City Administrator; City Secretary; City Chief Financial Officer; Financial Data Specialist; Municipal Judge, City Police Chief; City Attorney; and City Prosecutor” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.3, §4). Several of these titles are worn by the same person (Who Does What). Each is introduced here by title.

City Administrator and Chief of Police

Appointed Term: “indefinitely”

Titles held

  • Both titles, one person, as of 2023. A 2023 Texas Health and Human Services Commission hearing decision lists the “Police Chief and City Administrator of Hawk Cove” (Who Does What). We hold no later record of who holds either title.

Appointment, term and pay

  • Administrator, appointment: “The Mayor shall appoint the Administrator subject to confirmation by the governing body” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.1, §3).
  • Administrator, term: “The Administrator’s term of office shall continue indefinitely” (§3).
  • Administrator, contract: approved May 25, 2023, on a motion by Council member Bodiford, seconded by Council member Vance (minutes, p. 4). The ordinance says the contract “shall govern all aspects of the employment relationship” (§3). We have not been given the contract.
  • Administrator, pay: the ordinance’s caption promises “COMPENSATION,” and its body names no figure. The only dollar amount is $50,000, which is purchasing authority, not pay (§6(H); City News). The budget pages we hold show payroll as one line, not by office (Finances).
  • Police Chief, appointment: the Council “shall contract for the employment of, and thereafter appoint, the Police Chief” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.8, §3). We have not posted a Police Chief contract.

On the record

  • Powers set by ordinance, May 31, 2023. The Council approved the ordinance “ESTABLISHING AND CLARIFYING THE OFFICE OF CITY ADMINISRATOR” on a motion by Council member Goolsby, seconded by Council member Vance (minutes, p. 4). The full list of powers: How Much Power the City Administrator Has.
  • Agendas certified. The Administrator signed the posting certification on the agendas for May 15, 2023, December 20, 2023 and April 16, 2024 (May 15, 2023; Dec. 20, 2023; Apr. 16, 2024).
  • September 30, 2025. Rhonda Mckeehan signed Order No. 2025-09-___.01, the tax-rate order, as “City Administrator,” with Mayor Delores Spence and City Attorney Ronna L. Hodges (the order).
  • Police Chief, reporting: “the sole administrative authority of and over the Department without the requirement, or reporting, of any of the Police Chief’s actions to the Mayor or Council” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.8, §4). So the Police Chief has not been quoted here either.

Ronna L. Hodges, City Attorney and City Prosecutor

Appointed by agreement

Titles held

  • City Attorney, 2023–2026. The May 25, 2023 minutes record that “CITY ATTORNEY HODGES GAVE THE INVOCATION” (p. 1). She signed the September 30, 2025 tax-rate order as “Ronna L. Hodges, City Attorney” (the order).
  • City Attorney; City Prosecutor. Two titles in the ordinance (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.3, §4), one agreement: the “CITY’S AGREEMENT WITH CITY ATTORNEY/PROSECUTOR” (May 25, 2023 minutes, p. 5).
  • Also, on the record: records requester (July 15, 2025) and records reviewer (June 16, 2026), in her own words (Who Does What).

Appointment and pay

  • Agreement approved May 25, 2023, on a motion by Council member Taylor, seconded by Council member Bodiford (minutes, p. 5). Its terms are not posted here.
  • Pay, in her words: the City’s accounts are “broken down by city attorney prosecutor, which by the way also is pro bono” (Sept. 28, 2026, 0:40:59).

On the record

  • May 25, 2023. Gave the invocation (minutes, p. 1).
  • September 9, 2023. “Your honor, respectfully, I would submit to you that the value is zero point eight three four three three zero” (0:05:53; Finances).
  • September 30, 2025. Signed the tax-rate order with Mayor Delores Spence and City Administrator Rhonda Mckeehan (the order).
  • October 21, 2025. Reported that “the council did not pass a valid tax rate on September 10th September 16th or September 19th” (transcript, 0:03:10). Asked for a copy of her statement: “I will not be supplying a copy” (0:15:05).
  • July 15, 2025. “Oh, the status on the FOIA request that I asked for in March 3rd, April 3rd?” (transcript, 0:10:06)
  • June 16, 2026. “…it cost the city over $3,000 for me to review again for a FOIA request…” (0:37:27)
  • September 28, 2026. Addressed the Mayor as “Your Honor” and as “the Chief Budget Officer for the City of Hawk Cove” (Who Does What).
  • October 20, 2026. “The council did not and has not adopted the proposed budget” (meeting video; Finances).

Legal matters

  • Cause No. 94315. The November 18, 2024 petition to remove Mayor Delores Spence and Council Members Rebecca Bernardi (Place 1) and Mark Beatte (Place 4) was signed by Ms. Hodges, through her law office, as “Attorney for Petitioners Amanda Bodiford and Darren Evans” (petition, p. 26). One of the grounds it gives is the respondents’ State Bar grievance “against City’s Attorney” (petition, p. 5). Dismissed as moot May 8, 2026. Details below.

City Secretary

Appointed by agreement

The office has had more than one holder in the years our records cover. This is a profile of the office. Patricia Pendergraft is the City Secretary named on the certification of the May 31, 2023 minutes (p. 7), and she signed the 2025 records listed below.

Appointment and pay

  • Agreement approved May 25, 2023, on a motion by Council member Goolsby, seconded by Council member Bishop (minutes, p. 4). Its terms are not posted here. The budget pages we hold show payroll as one line (Finances).

Duties by ordinance

  • One of three people allowed to sign on City bank accounts, with the Court Clerk and the Utilities Clerk (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.3, §4).
  • When the Administrator is away, the Administrator’s duties “shall, first, default to the City Secretary” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.1, §5).

On the record

Chief Financial Officer

Appointed by agreement

Titles held

Appointment and pay

  • Agreement approved May 25, 2023, on a motion by Council member Bishop, seconded by Council member Bodiford (minutes, p. 4). Its terms are not posted here.

On the record

  • The FY2024 and FY2025 audits, which the Council “cannot distribute,” “will be available through public records request,” the Mayor told the Council (Audits). We have not seen them. We look forward to it.

Municipal Judge

Appointed by agreement

Titles held

Appointment and pay

  • Agreement approved May 25, 2023, on a motion by Council member Taylor, seconded by Council member Bodiford (minutes, p. 4). Its terms are not posted here.
  • Pay in 2026: none, in the words quoted above. We hold no later agreement for the office.