Chinn and Billings Bash Senator Bob Hall

Fate, TX – The political firestorm over secret recordings inside Fate City Hall just took a sharp and deeply ironic turn. Pipkins Reports has obtained an audio recording that appears to show former Fate City Councilwoman Codi Chinn secretly recording a private telephone conversation with former Mayor David Billings, despite her later public criticism of the practice.

The recording, verified through multiple sources familiar with the matter, predates the recent controversy involving Mayor Andrew Greenberg‘s recorded conversation with Chinn and Councilman Mark Hatley‘s recording of a discussion with City Manager Michael Kovacs. The discovery raises uncomfortable questions about consistency, credibility, and whether Chinn’s outrage over recorded conversations has been driven more by politics, than principle.

Pipkins Reports received a copy of a 32-minute audio recording from an anonymous source who said it originated from a recording obtained through an Open Records Request submitted to the City of Fate.

Pipkins Reports has reviewed documentation related to that request and separately confirmed the recording’s authenticity through sources with knowledge of the file maintained by the city.

Much of the conversation centers around mundane talk about MUD districts. Pipkins Reports has edited the recording to a 2-minute, 47-second excerpt focusing on the discussion involving Texas Sen. Bob Hall because it is directly relevant to matters of public interest.

During the conversation, Chinn expresses frustration with Hall’s reluctance to support legislation to strengthen child protection in schools. Stating that he is, “not interested in having that conversation.” She continues, “He is interested in getting people all riled up, but when it comes time to actually do the work, and his job, he’s nowhere to be found.“

Billings echoes that frustration, and opines how he says Bob Hall, “fights dirty“, and how he has voted against cities 9 times. The conversation paints a picture of two local political figures who believe the longtime senator was not sufficiently responsive to their legislative priorities.

The policy disagreements themselves are not especially unusual. Elected officials often criticize one another behind closed doors. What makes this recording different is the hypocrisy of Chinn, stirring up outrage about “secret recordings” when she herself has been a proponent.

The Hall recording is not the only documented instance in which Chinn appears to have secretly recorded a conversation. Through a separate Open Records Request submitted by Pipkins Reports, this publication obtained a city copy of a recorded interview between Michael Pipkins and Chinn concerning her involvement in the dismissal of former Fate Department of Public Safety Chief Lyle Lombard.

That recording also predates the controversy that would inevitably follow.

According to the records produced by the City of Fate, Chinn recorded that interview without disclosing it during the conversation. The existence of multiple recordings attributed to Chinn adds additional context to the current debate over undisclosed recordings by public officials and further raises questions about the consistency between her past actions and her more recent public criticism of the practice.

But according to the evidence reviewed by Pipkins Reports, Chinn appears to have engaged, multiple times, in the very conduct she later condemned.

Texas is a one-party consent state under state law, meaning only one participant in a conversation generally must consent to its recording. If Chinn initiated or participated in the call, recording it would not necessarily violate Texas law. The issue presented here is not primarily a legal one.

It is political.

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Opinion

Politics has a funny way of exposing selective outrage.

For months, Fate residents have heard lectures from Codi Chinn about how secret recordings destroy trust, poison relationships, and undermine good government. Fair enough. Those are arguments reasonable people can debate.

But what legitimate purpose would have been gained by Chinn recording a conversation with the Former Mayor?

Given this revelation, it’s possible that the recordings by others that followed Chinn, may have been a defense mechanism (even unconsciously), over a situation that they could feel was off. Couple that with the deceptions that we now know were taking place by Chinn, and other council members, as well as the city manager, and it appears that there might have been a valid justification for both Greenberg and Hatley to take the actions that they did.

There’s another layer here which is important to understand as to why Pipkins Reports chose to clip this section of the audio. Chinn and Billings were not merely venting about Sen. Hall. They were criticizing an elected state senator over legislation affecting Fate, as well as Rockwall County in general, and discussing his approach to measures involving child safety in schools. Voters deserve to hear how public officials truly feel about those issues, and how they discuss those issues when they believe no one else is listening.

This recording doesn’t settle every argument currently consuming City Hall. It does, however, remove any illusion that only one side has participated in private recordings.

Sometimes the loudest critics leave behind the clearest evidence.

Fate, TX – The City of Fate is about to lose the law firm that has represented it for years.

On July 9, Andrew Messer of Messer Fort, PLLC formally notified Mayor Andrew Greenberg and the City Council that it would terminate its legal representation of the City effective July 20, giving the City just eleven days to secure new legal counsel. The brief resignation letter offers no explanation beyond stating the firm “can no longer continue to represent the City.“

That single sentence is already fueling questions inside City Hall.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the firm’s departure may help explain why longtime City Attorney Jennifer Richie was absent from the July 6 City Council meeting. Instead, founding partner Andrew Messer personally attended the meeting, an unusual move that several observers immediately noticed. Sources within City Hall say the transition away from the City had already begun.

The resignation itself is remarkably concise.

In the letter dated July 9, Andrew Messer thanked the City “for the opportunity to serve as the City Attorney for the City of Fate,” before stating that the firm could no longer continue its representation and would assist with transitioning matters to new legal counsel through July 20. No reason for the departure is provided.

Under the City’s own published description of the City Attorney’s responsibilities, legal counsel serves in one of the most influential roles in municipal government. Those duties include advising the City Council and staff on Texas open meetings law, ethics requirements, public information requests, contracts, development agreements, employment law, litigation, municipal court matters, utilities regulation, and land use issues.

The City Council is ultimately responsible for selecting legal counsel, although municipalities commonly contract with outside law firms rather than employ an in-house attorney.

While neither the City nor Messer Fort has publicly announced why the relationship is ending, multiple sources told Pipkins Reports that concerns over recent legal advice may have contributed to the firm’s decision to withdraw.

One issue concerns the City’s handling of secret audio recordings that became the subject of disputes under the Texas Public Information Act.

In recent months, Messer Fort submitted two separate requests to the Texas Attorney General seeking permission to withhold portions of audio recordings requested under the Public Information Act. According to documents previously reviewed by Pipkins Reports, the Attorney General issued different rulings for the two requests.

Sources familiar with those proceedings contend the firm chose to apply the more restrictive interpretation to both rulings rather than favoring disclosure, despite Texas law generally presuming government records are public unless an exception clearly applies.

Another dispute centered on allegations that Mayor Andrew Greenberg improperly disclosed personal medical information concerning a City employee contained within one of the recordings.

According to sources, Messer Fort argued the information should remain confidential when requesting an Attorney General ruling. However, the request allegedly failed to disclose what those same sources describe as a significant fact: the employee had died before the recording was released.

Under Texas law, privacy protections that apply to living individuals may not continue in the same manner after death, depending on the information involved and the applicable legal standards. The omission of that fact, according to sources familiar with the dispute, may have affected the Attorney General’s review of the matter.

The issue has reportedly been returned to the Attorney General’s Office for further consideration regarding what information, if any, must ultimately be withheld and what must be released to the public.

Neither Messer Fort nor Jennifer Richie has publicly commented on those allegations, and Pipkins Reports has not independently confirmed whether those matters played any role in the firm’s resignation.

For now, the City must move quickly to retain replacement counsel before July 20.

Opinion

Government attorneys occupy a unique position. They don’t represent politicians. They don’t represent bureaucrats. They represent the municipal corporation, and ultimately the public interest within the bounds of the law.

That’s why transparency matters so much.

Texas didn’t write the Public Information Act to help governments hide embarrassing records. The Legislature deliberately built the law around a presumption that public records belong to the public unless a clearly established exception applies, and governments must seek permission to withhold information.

When legal advice appears to lean toward secrecy instead of disclosure, public confidence inevitably suffers, people begin wondering whether lawyers are protecting the law, protecting city hall, or protecting chosen politicians.

Of course, none of this proves why Messer Fort resigned. It would be irresponsible to claim otherwise.

But the timing is difficult to ignore. A law firm that has represented Fate for years suddenly announces it “can no longer continue” representing the City without explanation, just days after its lead attorney is absent from a council meeting and amid ongoing disputes over public records. Texans are entitled to ask questions.

And those questions deserve answers.

Whether the resignation stems from disagreements over legal strategy, internal business decisions, or something else entirely, residents should expect the City Council to explain how it intends to move forward, who will advise the City next, and whether the legal approach to transparency will change with new counsel.

The people of Fate deserve nothing less.

Fate, TX – Monday night’s Fate City Council meeting pulled back the curtain on something that had puzzled residents for weeks.

Why would four members of the council vote against finding an ethics violation or imposing sanctions against Mayor Andrew Greenberg after attorney Ross Fischer had concluded there was probable cause to believe Greenberg may have violated the city’s code of ethics?

The answer, it turns out, was hidden behind deliberative privilege that some members of the Fate City Council didn’t want you to know about.

City Council Meeting for June 15, 2026, Agenda items 6G and 6H called for the council to consider waiving attorney-client privilege concerning ethics complaints involving Mayor Andrew Greenberg, former Councilman Mark Harper, and former Councilwoman Codi Chinn… for the June 1st meeting. The council voted 4-2 to waive deliberative privilege and allow discussion of what had previously occurred behind closed doors.

The June 1 vote had left many residents, particularly those of Karen Keiser, who supported the recall effort against Greenberg, confused. Council members had voted 4-2 not to pursue sanctions or make findings of an ethics violation, with Councilman Allen Robbins and Councilwoman Ashley Rains voting in the minority.

What the public, and Mrs. Keiser, didn’t know was that in executive session, there was great disagreement about the Ross Fischer report.

According to a phone interview Pipkins Reports had with Mayor Greenberg on Tuesday, one of the central issues involved allegations that he had improperly disclosed confidential employee information concerning former City DPS Chief Lyle Lombard to this investigative journalist, by releasing audio of a phone conversation he had with Councilwoman Codi Chinn.

In a conversation with Greenberg on Tuesday, Greenberg said that attorneys within the Texas Attorney General’s Office had previously determined that only three minutes (approximately) of an audio recording between Greenberg and Chinn contained personal or confidential information, none of which formed the basis of these ethics allegations as stipulated by Fischer.

Greenberg further argued that Fischer’s conclusions relied on assumptions rather than evidence showing that any “deliberative” information had actually been provided. Even more, Mr. Fischer refused to seek guidance from the Attorney General to determine if any of his assertions about confidential information were actually “deliberative”.

For context, the words, “deliberative information” are in reference to any “confidential” information that city officials might discuss regarding a city employee. But not all information about an employee is to be considered “confidential”, and this is a very important point of the discussion.

Under the Texas Public Information Act (Government Code Chapter 552), information concerning public employees is presumed public unless a statute or recognized exception applies. Merely discussing an employee does not make the information “deliberative” or “confidential”, unless and until the city requests and receives an exemption from the Attorney General. In this case, none of the information alleged by Mr. Fischer was determined by the Attorney General to be “confidential” or permitted to be withheld.

Sidebar: How did Autumn Lobinsky know what was in those three minutes that were never released to the public?

Texas Government Code §552.111 protects certain interagency and intra-agency memoranda reflecting advice, recommendations, opinions, and policymaking discussions. This is often called the “deliberative process privilege.”

However, the exception generally applies only to communications involving policymaking, not routine personnel matters. The Texas Attorney General has repeatedly distinguished between:

• Policy deliberations → potentially protected.
• Routine administrative or personnel matters → generally not protected.

Thus, discussions about: performance evaluations, discipline, complaints, hiring decisions, salary matters, are not automatically considered to be “deliberative information.”

Therefore, the Council Members argued in executive session that Fischer failed to make the case that the information exchanged met those qualifications.

Furthermore, Fischer’s investigation provided no other corroborating evidence.

Emails between Michael Pipkins and Ross Fischer show that Fischer sought information from Pipkins concerning the investigation. In a May 27 email, Fischer volunteered to Pipkins that Greenberg had acknowledged allowing Pipkins access to the recording, and asked whether Greenberg had provided a copy or merely played portions of the audio.

(Would Fischer’s release of information to Pipkins about his conversation with Greenberg be a release of confidential information? )

Regardless, Pipkins declined to answer, citing journalistic policy and the protection of confidential sources absent a subpoena or court order. Fischer then acknowledged to Pipkins that Greenberg had admitted playing portions of the recording and indicated he was attempting to verify Greenberg’s account. Part of this exchange was cited in Fischer’s report. We are providing the full context of the email exchange below.

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[Email Exchange Between Ross Fischer and Michael Pipkins]

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According to Greenberg, no evidence was produced showing that any of the information disclosed by Greenberg was in fact, “deliberative information” (ie: confidential). Yet, Mr. Fisher’s report would go on to recommend that he violated the City’s Code of Ethics, regardless of the actual fact that none of the information had been, or would be, considered privileged.

“Conclusion. Assuming Mayor Greenberg’s response is accurate, he still released deliberative information about personnel decisions a month before Council waived that
privilege. Based on Mayor Greenberg’s admissions alone, there is credible evidence that he violated Section 2-309(6) of the City’s Code of Ethics.”
Ross Fischer Report

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[Copy of the report by Ross Fischer. ]

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Armed with information that the report was potentially faulty, four members of the council ultimately voted against finding a violation or imposing sanctions against Greenberg. Now we know why the council voted the way they did.

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Meanwhile, another controversy emerged during public comments in the June 15th meeting.

Residents Lance and Lorne Megyesi addressed the council concerning the ongoing recall effort. While Lorne attempted to chastise and lecture the council, Lance cited Sections 3.06 and 3.10 of the City Charter and argued that government could continue functioning even if four council members are removed in November.

Section 3.06 clearly states that a quorum must consist of four council members. while Section 3.10 indicates that a majority of the council is considered a quorum.

“Governments cannot be allowed to collapse due to vacancies,” Megyesi told the council.

Megyesi argued that a group smaller than the normal quorum would possess limited authority to restore a quorum through appointments or by ordering an election. He further stated that a Texas Attorney General opinion supported that position, though he provided no opinion number or supporting document to substantiate his claim, and the evidence discovered by Pipkins Reports, indicates the exact opposite.

As a relevant sideline, former Mayor David Billings recently advanced a similar argument in a Rockwall Times opinion piece titled “The City Will Go On,” arguing that a successful recall would not halt Fate city government.

That assertion, however, has drawn criticism from residents who argue that elected offices are far more than ceremonial titles, as the former “retired” mayor would suggest.

Under Section 2.09 of the City Charter, the City Council possesses authority to compromise and settle claims and lawsuits involving the city. (ie: Wrongful Termination Lawsuits). Section 2.13 authorizes the council to require bonds from city officials and employees. (ie: New hires) The council also possesses authority over appointments and hiring decisions involving key city personnel.

Critics note that if a loss of quorum persisted and the city manager, city secretary, or city attorney departed unexpectedly, there would be no mechanism for replacing those positions without council action. And without a quorum, that simply can’t happen.

The mayor’s office also carries real statutory responsibilities beyond just presiding over meetings.

Under Section 32-45 of the city code, the mayor serves as floodplain administrator or appoints a designee. In addition, Section 10-20 establishes the mayor as the city’s emergency management director. What happens if the City suffers a natural disaster?

Billings argues that essential functions of government would continue and that legal mechanisms exist to preserve continuity. Opponents counter that continuity and normal governance are not the same thing.

Consider the precedent of the 2004 Haltom City recall, where the recall and loss of a quorum of five of seven council members effectively halted normal council operations for three months (Feb – May) until elections restored the vacancies. In that situation, Attorney General Opinion GA-0175, concluded that recalled officials did not hold over and that the city effectively was without a quorum until elections restored the vacancies.

Haltom City’s Charter is not that different to that of Fate.

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Critics of the recall note that Fate could face an even longer period of uncertainty. If four members were removed in November and vacancies were not filled until the next uniform election date in May, the city could potentially spend roughly six months without a fully functioning council… unless a district judge were to step in and order an election.

While day-to-day city services would likely continue, critics argue that Billings characterizing the loss of a majority of the governing body as little more than an inconvenience understates the practical consequences. Settlements, appointments, policy decisions, and unforeseen emergencies do not operate on election calendars.

And while contingency plans can be devised for almost anything, critics contend that improvisation in the middle of a crisis is hardly the same thing as having a fully functioning government.

Government may survive without a quorum. Haltom City proved that. But survival and governance are not the same thing, and it is the citizens who will suffer by being caught in the middle.

Opinion

There is something remarkable about the coalition that has formed around the effort to remove Mayor Andrew Greenberg and three sitting council members, Mark Hatley, Martha Huffman and Rick Maneval.

Councilwoman Ashley Rains and Councilman Allan Robbins support the effort. Former Mayor David Billings supports the recall and uses his platform to assert that the city government would continue uninterrupted after a successful recall. Former Councilman Lance Megyesi and his brother, former Mayor Lorne Megyesi, support the recall and have publicly discussed their own legal theories concerning how a reduced council might restore a quorum through “appointments”. Former Councilman Mark Harper and former Councilwoman Codi Chinn have likewise remained active voices in the city’s political battles.

Residents can draw their own conclusions, but the cast of characters is familiar. These are all current and former officeholders; they are all political allies; they are all responsible for the current state of social unrest as well as the development disaster that grips Fate at this time. And they have all united in a common cause to oust the current council and restore their power. They appear to be, to a common observer, as bitter, angry individuals hell-bent on revenge. Their childish antics on social media and feigned outrage at the podium are proof of that.

Make no mistake, these are not strangers united by coincidence. They are experienced political figures with a common bias and a shared interest in their vision of the future direction of the city. A vision that does not match that of the current council majority. In my opinion, citizens are witnessing an orchestrated coup in real time. Many people don’t even know that they are being manipulated by a group of washed-up, failed politicians.

Supporters of the recall have been convinced that they are trying to save Fate from an unethical council. And supporters of the current council argue the exact opposite. They see the current recall effort and false ethics complaints as an attempt by a network of present and former officials to reverse political defeats that occurred at the ballot box.

Why is it that the new and former members of the Council consistently advocate for Less Open Government, instead of More Open Government? Why are their supporters so angry and hateful on social media?

One fact should concern every voter, regardless of whose sign sits in their front yard.

This group organizing the recall is already trying to steer the conversation away from whether four officials should be removed to what happens afterward, how a quorum could be restored, and what powers a reduced council might possess. That is not an academic debate. It is a debate about who governs. And they are positioning themselves to be “appointed” to fill that gap.

And that’s where citizens should become very skeptical.

Because in a republic, political power is supposed to flow from elections, not from creative interpretations, procedural maneuvers, or the hope that voters won’t notice the difference.

The people of Fate have every right to vote to remove elected officials, or to retain them, as they see fit when they go into the polling place.

But when people go into that voting booth, they should take stock of which side has been fighting for actual transparency, reporting facts, and working to do what is right for the citizens, and which side is for keeping things behind closed doors, acting like children … and trying to stir up anger among the citizens.