What Was The Tuesday Night Massacre?

Many people in Celina, Texas have heard of the famous "Tuesday Night Massacre" by now. In this episode, Host Ron Lyons deep dives into the Celina, Texas city council meeting from June 14, 2022 where four city council members (Wendie Wigginton, Jay Pierce, Philip Ferguson and Tony Griggs) devised a plan to terminate (forcibly vacate) every citizen member's position on every single board and commission (except the Board of Adjustments) on the exact night that two of those four council members (Ferguson and Griggs) had just sworn in. A plan in which, unfortunately, they were successful in carrying out.

 In order for such a plan to be undertaken on the first night of Ferguson and Griggs service on the council, there had to be discussions and plans made between each of them and Wigginton and Pierce. The term collusion certainly fits this situation and "if" Celina, Texas residents knew this took place, it could certainly create doubt and distrust between between the citizens and council.

This move has been seen by most as dangerous, similar to twirling a loaded gun on your finger -perhaps you make it through just fine and look like a real showman, or perhaps you destroy life as we know it in Celina, Texas.

Supporters of the four instigators of the Tuesday Night Massacre will quickly point to the fact that no major harm was done. In other words, in spite of the risks willfully taken by these four council members, we got lucky. But, it isn't the outcome that is the problem. Instead, it's their willingness to gamble with the future and the vision of what is arguably one of the most amazing cities in Texas.

As bad as the Russian Roulette game was that was forced upon the City of Celina by these four council members, there is sadly, more. One specific instance was when Wigginton and Ferguson decided (knowing they held the majority on city council and therefore could pass anything they desired) to put City Manager Jason Laumer on the council agenda to force his termination. (As a side note, approximately three months prior to Wigginton and Ferguson's effort to put Laumer on the agenda for termination, the Celina City Council had voted to not only renew, but to extend Jason Laumer's employment contract with Celina, a move that would indicate their satisfaction with his performance as City Manager.)

Ferguson ultimately responded to the outpouring of support for Laumer and ended up changing his intention to help terminate Laumer. Without Ferguson's vote, the council would;d have been split and the Mayor would have to break the tie, presumably in favor of keeping Laumer in his position as City Manager, therefore Wigginton pulled Laumer from the agenda and to this day, Jason Laumer still serves as Celina City Manager.

And, it's a great thing that this effort failed because a third party study of the job satisfaction of City of Celina employees (over 250 of them) and culture of the workplace within the City of Celina was undertaken. The results would either reflect that Council Member Wigginton was correct in her desire to terminate City Manager Laumer, or it would show that she was incorrect and that Laumer was in fact, doing a good job.

The results? Stellar! As it turns out, the results of the report show that City Manager Jason Laumer has created a Celina workforce that is very happy in their jobs and that they love the culture working for the City of Celina.

These are uncomfortable issues to address, and most people do not have the two hours and twenty minutes to watch the council meeting from June 14th, 2022 and were not able to attend. Therefore, Host Ron Lyons takes us on a tour of the critically dangerous steps taken by the new majority of the Celina City Council on the night now known as The Tuesday Night Massacre.