ODESSA, Texas — (Editor's note: The video above is from previous coverage of the meeting.)
Both Odessa City Manager Michael Marrero and City Attorney Natasha Brooks were terminated during Tuesday's city council meeting.
In two separate votes, the council voted 5-2 in favor of letting them go.
Both Brooks and Marrero were asked to leave following their dismissal.
Several people came out to the meeting to speak out in opposition of their termination.
Dan Jones has been named the interim city attorney. Agapito "Gapi" Bernal will take the role of interim city manager.
Marrero has worked for the city since 1994, taking his current role in 2018. Brooks has been with the city since 2015, taking her current position in 2019.
Detra White formerly served on Odessa City Council for District 3 for the past four years, working alongside Marrero and Brooks. She calls them great former coworkers.
"I have sincerely appreciated the work they’ve done," White said. "I think they’re two very good individuals that have a passion for the city of Odessa. This isn’t just a job to them. They love Odessa. They have chosen Odessa to work for."
White even went into further detail about what makes each of them stand out to her.
"I truly can not say enough good about them," White said. "Michael is a phenomenal leader. He is a good communicator. He is well respected among the city employees."
"One of the nice things that I noticed working with Natasha is she works very, very hard to train and keep her staff updated," White said. "So, in the event anything happens that she’s not available, she has staff members who step in and answer pretty much anything that a council member would have."
However, after hearing Marrero and Brooks could be terminated, she has been left shocked, surprised and saddened.
"Honestly, today has been a sad day because I want the council to make good and reasonable decisions that are for the best of the city of Odessa," White said. "The timing, I think is just sad that you would terminate someone or potentially terminate someone right before the Christmas holiday."
White said during her time on Council, there was never mention of terminating either employee.
"They did not ever discuss that with us, or discuss any issues that they were having with the city manager or city attorney," White said. "That was never brought up or discussed with us."
Her hope before a decision at tonight's meeting is that new council members will reconsider.
"My prayer is that these newer council members will wait and take the time to get to know them, and then make a decision for themselves if these are the individuals they want to work," White said.
NewsWest 9 reached out to both people, Mayor Joven and the other city council members for comment. One council member declined to comment, while the other people contacted did not respond.