Lawsuits and mayor’s arrest rock small town Hawkins

Like most small towns, Hawkins has always had its fair share of gossip. But, in the 15 months since Deborah Rushing became mayor of this East Texas town, the whispered small-town tea has spiraled into public accusations of vexing political shenanigans.

How the town of roughly 1,200 — about 20 miles north of Tyler — arrived at its melodramatic state of political back-and-forth starts with a cast of characters. First and foremost is Rushing, who was elected mayor in May 2024.

Then there is former Alderman Greg Branson, who also runs the Hawkins Community Development Corporation and the Chamber of Commerce; Paul Holland, who is the former police chief; and last, but certainly not least, Matthew Todd Eddington, a friend of Rushing’s who regularly provides his opinions of the town on “The Crooked Wood County Justice System” Facebook page.

A series of tumultuous events since summer 2024 have led to the town’s current state:

• Rushing being appointed municipal judge, and the town hiring Holland as police chief.

• Rushing accusing Branson of misuse of funds.

• Holland being tasked with the investigation into Branson.

• Rushing suggesting the arrest of Branson and enlisting the help of Eddington and other citizens.

• Rushing being removed as municipal judge at a November City Council meeting that included a physical altercation.

• Holland resigning as police chief.

• Rushing firing all but one of the town’s police officers.

• The Texas Rangers arresting Rushing at the outset of its investigation.

• Three former police officers filing a lawsuit against Rushing as the City Council fires the town’s last officer.

For the past year, the town has been spinning in a revolving door of loss. Loss of officials, loss of community and loss of protection. The blame game of who is at fault for the town’s problems has commenced. For Rushing, the finger-pointing is all a part of small-town politics. “I’m sure all towns are like this, especially small ones,” she said. “There’s a lot of grandstanding in whatever’s going on in our city right now.” Some residents and former council members have a decidedly different take. They question whether the mayor has overstepped her authority — and whether the city could be on the path to financial insecurity as a lawsuit is filed and tax rates could increase.

“So much has happened over the months that there are people who just can’t put their differences aside to work together,” the town’s librarian, Norma Hallmark, said. “Honestly, other than that, I don’t know of a real solution.” Rushing was elected mayor at a time when the city lacked a police chief, municipal judge and city attorney.

Rushing quickly filled all the roles. In June 2024, Holland was hired as chief of police. He had 34 years of experience and had worked at several agencies, including the Allen and Dallas police departments, according to state records. In August, Leigh Thompson was hired as city attorney. Then, Rushing offered to be and was appointed municipal judge for 90 days. It felt like the right thing to do, she told The Dallas Morning News.

The small-town politics flared into something more in fall 2024 when Rushing accused Branson, a council member at the time, of financial crimes, sparking an investigation by Holland. The investigation revealed no criminal wrongdoing, according to a post the chief shared on the town’s Facebook page. Rushing pushed on, suggesting she and Holland could approve and sign an affidavit warrant for Branson’s arrest to speed up the investigation.

“I was trying to put some fire under [Holland’s] butt,” Rushing said. When Holland said no to the plan, Rushing suggested another option. If a citizen were to write an affidavit of probable cause, Rushing said she, as municipal judge, could sign it and have Holland arrest Branson. Holland declined an interview with The News.

Eddington, Rushing’s friend, and a few other residents offered to write the affidavit, Holland said at a Nov. 18 council meeting when the “sought after” affidavit was discussed. “I advised her that I do not believe that’s legal,” Holland said at the meeting. Rushing told The News she believed the arrest-warrant affidavit was justified, and it would have led to concrete answers.

“Greg and I even spoke about it and said, ‘Hey, you know, let’s just fix it,’” Rushing said. “I didn’t want him to go to jail.” Branson told The News that conversation did not happen.

“I didn’t know anything about the affidavit until somebody in town called and told me she’s trying to get an affidavit and have me arrested,” he said. “I haven’t done anything wrong. Why would I be arrested?” Rushing’s suggestion that Branson be arrested came up at a Nov. 22 special council meeting when a heated discussion erupted over Rushing serving as municipal judge while she was mayor. Thompson, the new city attorney, said it was against the Texas Constitution for Rushing to be mayor and municipal judge. “Right now you are in an unlawful position,” Thompson told Rushing.

Rushing accused the council of wanting to remove her because she suggested arresting Branson. “There was not an issue with me being a judge until I said that I was willing to sign an arrest warrant and I don’t know why y’all are not big enough to be able to say that,” Rushing said in a recording of the meeting. Eddington spoke up in her defense. In the meeting recording, a council member can be seen attempting to stop him from interrupting. Eddington spoke out of turn again. Pushing and shoving erupted between him, Officer Dave Morris and town utility manager Michael Maberry. Maberry was later arrested over the scuffle and faced charges of interfering with public duties.

The meeting ended with a decision to remove Rushing as judge. “It was frustrating,” she told The News, “because I loved being able to be the judge.”

At a Dec. 16 meeting, Holland said he had handed over the investigation into the scuffle to the Texas Rangers. He reiterated that using the annual 2023 audit, he found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in his investigation into Branson and the Hawkins Community Development Corporation. Holland said he was advised by the Texas Rangers, the Wood County district attorney’s office and the Hawkins city attorney that a forensic audit needed to be done on the HCDC account. This did not happen. At the December meeting, Holland said the mayor denied his request for an audit, saying it wasn’t needed. That was not his only concern.

Holland said Rushing made the complaint against Branson, participated in the police investigation and witnessed the gathering of evidence. And as judge, she pursued a warrant for Branson’s arrest, Holland said. “Obviously this is not the way our judicial system works,” Holland said in front of Rushing and a crowd of residents at the December meeting. “You can’t be the complainant, you can’t be the witness and you can’t be the investigator, you can’t be the judge, all at the same time.” By January, both Holland and city attorney Thompson had resigned after less than a year in their jobs.