GROVES — The saga of Cross Coburn reads like a Hollywood drama.

A young, gay man gets involved in small-town politics; plain envelopes with risqué photos show up at City Hall and local media offices as something from his past is exposed.

The threat to take him out of politics manifests, people take sides in the issue and he is eventually booted out of office. In a unique twist; a national magazine picked up his story and his drive to become a politician is even stronger because of what he experienced.

How it all began

In the summer of 2017, then 18-year-old Coburn decided to run for the Ward 1 seat in the city. The incumbent, his would-be opponent, decided to spare the city the cost of an election and dropped out of the race, saying he felt he had his shot and it was time for a fresh face, new ideas and fresh perspective. He wished Coburn good fortune and good success.

Coburn, a college student, was interested in politics and felt the best way to make a change in the world is to get involved. He took office in November 2017.

The timeline

The fated envelope with clothed, shirtless and intimate photos of Coburn was sent to Groves City Hall on Feb. 22 and contained a statement: “Is this in any way proper behavior of a councilman to represent himself online or a ‘dating’ app? I felt the city council should be made aware of the situation.”

The mayor, Brad Bailey, along with the city marshal and city manager met with Coburn and his attorney Jill Pierce at the police station on Feb. 28. It is learned that Coburn did nothing illegal. He had had a private conversation with someone he met on Grindr, a gay dating app, and the photos he sent to the other person along with bits of their conversation is what was sent. Envelopes were mailed to local news media including The Port Arthur News, which ran a story March 13, as did other media.

Bailey and others contend the issue with Coburn has nothing to do with him being gay and is strictly about his behavior not becoming of a councilmember. Bailey addressed the issue without stating it bluntly in an open council meeting.

The City Council had no recourse, he said, adding that if citizens felt the need for a recall election that there are rules and timelines.

William Howlett came forward and spearheaded the recall petition, saying that Coburn used poor judgment in sending the nude photos.

Howlett had help from like-minded people — including Bailey’s wife, Councilman Sidney Badon’s wife and Councilman Kyle Hollier — in circulating the petition.

The mayor stood by his wife in her decision to circulate the petition.

“She’s a Groves citizen. She is very adamant that the standards and actions of council members matter and she felt strongly that a recall petition was the correct way to participate,” Bailey said in a story that ran on June 1. “This is not a City Hall-driven issue.”

Coburn’s attorney Pierce believes the issue was a smear campaign and her client was bullied.

Courts, election, courts

Pierce discovered irregularities in some of the recall petition signatures: Some were duplicated, some were missing information and at least two people who signed affidavits said they did not sign it. There were also issues, she said, with signatures of the person circulating the petition, their name scratched out and another name in its place. This still received a notary seal.

A temporary injunction case was brought to the 172nd District Court and Judge Donald Floyd, who ruled in favor of the city and paved the way for the recall election.

Floyd originally dismissed the case “with prejudice” meaning it was the final judgment and Pierce asked the judge to reconsider the ruling. Floyd reversed his ruling in early November and the word hit the news the same day Texas Monthly published a story on Coburn titled “Catfishing and Conspiracy in Groves.” The story gained national attention with a story in The New York Times and other publications as well.

Coburn lost the election with 2,071 in favor of the recall and 1,138 against the recall Nov. 6. In response, his attorney filed a petition for contest of the recall election and declaratory judgment.

No decision has been.

Next steps

Coburn said in an interview after the election that he isn’t upset about the recall — it only cemented his beliefs in going forward.

And while the Coburn controversy was on the ballot for Groves voters, so were other City Council seats — including the mayor’s. Those incumbents were reseated.

Coburn plans to remain active in the community and his drive to be in politics is strengthened, he said.

Coburn’s vacant ward 1 seat sat vacant for weeks. Per Groves’ city charter it’s up to the council to name a person to serve Coburn’s unexpired term, which is about a year.

During a meeting after the election it was noted that several people submitted letters to the city expressing interest in being appointed to the position. However, no city official had ever announced they would consider letters of recommendations from the public.

There were six letters submitted from Ward 1 residents expressing interest in the position, including from the person chosen, Chris Borne, and his wife. Borne was approved in a 3-to-1 vote in late November.