Corpus Christi leaders call for firing of City Manager Peter Zanoni

At a press conference held on the steps of Corpus Christi City Hall on Wednesday morning, former City Council member Dr. Jim Klein and current City Council member Sylvia Campos were joined by nearly two dozen supporters in calling for the termination of City Manager Peter Zanoni, citing issues of mismanagement, fiscal irresponsibility, and ethical misconduct.

“We think that it is time for City Manager Peter Zanoni to leave,” Klein said, citing a laundry list of concerns ranging from water planning failures to a major increase in the use of certificates of obligation – debt instruments that bypass voter approval.

“There’s been a severe lack of planning for the drought, and a myopic devotion to desalination,” said Klein, accusing staff under Zanoni’s direction of neglecting water solutions like groundwater contracts, reducing reservoir evaporation, and conservation, and refusing to give appropriate consideration to the environmental impact of the Inner Harbor desalination plant.

Klein also pointed to Zanoni’s $409,000 salary as excessive, arguing that “pay increases are justified for the rank-and-file workers, especially those who are out doing the work every day, out in the sun, in the parks, in the neighborhoods – but not for those at the very top.”

Ultimately, Klein said, the “trigger” for his decision to call for Zanoni’s termination was the city manager’s “unethical and defamatory” disclosure to the news media of a city employee’s personal health information. “That, I think, is unacceptable and unforgivable,” Klein said. “And the buck should stop at his desk.”

District 2 City Council member Campos echoed Klein’s concerns and went further, citing key reasons why she believes Zanoni’s contract should not be renewed. “Peter Zanoni has abused our taxpayer dollars,” Campos said. She criticized him for accepting a 10% raise while simultaneously requesting departmental budget cuts. “To me, that was unconscionable.”

Campos also accused Zanoni of fostering a toxic work culture, and using the city’s Human Resources department to silence critics. “I know a bully when I see one,” said Campos.

Klein and Campos urged residents to sign the public petition calling for Zanoni’s termination, and asked the community to contact City Council members as they conduct their annual review of Zanoni’s performance. “City Manager Peter Zanoni should be dismissed,” concluded Klein.

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