Mitchell, who defeated her nemesis, Mayor Pro Tem Josh McCabe, by seven votes, said she is all about making sure the city government is transparent and that taxpayers know how their money is being spent.

But McCabe said Mitchell’s actions since becoming mayor have cost the city approximately $1.2 million as key employees left citing a hostile work environment and political suffocation. He is worried about Rhome’s future as major developments bringing new homes and businesses are about to change the city of 1,800 in a big way.

Since May, Rhome lost the public works director and an employee, and the fire chief. The city administrator left under an amicable separation agreement, and the police chief is now also serving in that role on an interim basis.

“I don’t think she is the best fit for that position,” McCabe said of Mitchell.

“I think she probably should be gone so that we can get someone to look out for the best interest of this town with the development that is coming.”

But Mitchell said she is tired of decisions made behind closed doors involving McCabe and his three political allies on the council and said she is often “left out in the cold.”

“I’m pretty much at a loss,” Mitchell said.

“We’ve got three members on the council who object to everything that I do.”

Mitchell said accusations that she stalked employees are not true. She described living down the street from city hall and could see who was there from her front yard.

Mitchell said that before she decided to run for office, she started a Facebook page, Rhome Watch, in 2017 where she posts information including documents she obtained through open records requests that included information about city employees from their former employers.

She questioned why Rhome residents did not get information about issues with the water system that included reports from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

“I don’t think I’ve even gotten to the tip of the iceberg,” Mitchell said. “I don’t think we’ve gotten full transparency.”

‘Terribly divided council’

A particularly fiery exchange between Mitchell and McCabe erupted during the Aug. 25 council meeting over who had the authority to sign the separation agreement between Rhome and its former city administrator Cynthia Northrop. The mayor ended up walking out along with her allies on the council and several in the audience, leaving McCabe and the remaining council members to conduct business.

Mitchell insisted that she is not quitting or resigning, and will return to preside over Thursday’s council meeting that starts at 6 p.m.

“It seems that you are creating a shadow government,” Mitchell told McCabe during the Aug. 25 meeting while referring to not having a chance to see the contract for Northrop before it was signed.

She questioned why McCabe, the mayor pro tem, had the authority to sign the contract. McCabe replied that the council voted to give him the authority.

Mitchell said she did not get copies of the contract until the following week.

“Every member on the council including myself should have had access to these documents before they were signed,” she said.

Northrop received $125,000 as part of the agreement.

McCabe stated that it is “best practice” not to give out uncompleted contracts while in negotiation.

“Every person on this council was offered those contracts in this meeting, but no one took the opportunity to look at them,” he told Mitchell.

Mitchell shot back, “Nice spin. Like I said, we should have had a little time as a courtesy, council should have had a day or two to look them over.”

McCabe said everything was above board and approved by the city attorney, but Mitchell disagreed.

As the arguing continued, other council members told Mitchell that she had plenty of opportunities to look at the contract, and that her refusal to sign other documents led to delays with the city’s day-to-day business.

Before Mitchell walked out she said, “anyway, we do have a terribly divided council, folks. I see this stuff that comes out on social media. Anyway, that’s all I have to say about it. You know what, I think I’m going to take a breather. I’ll be back next council meeting. Josh wants to be mayor real bad, and so we’ll let him.”

McCabe and Mitchell argued about who had the authority to sign the agreement involving Northrop, which was discussed during an Aug. 4 executive session.

McCabe said in an interview the council decided during executive session that he should handle negotiating the agreement with Northrop because Mitchell spoke publicly about her dislike of Northrop, and there were concerns on whether Mitchell would “execute the agreement,” he said.

Northrop said in an email to the Star-Telegram that she respected the amicable, no fault agreement.

McCabe said because of the tense relationship, Northrop was given the option of having a third party in meetings, but because of scheduling, she recorded the meetings with Mitchell, and every council member received copies of the recordings.

Major growth poses challenge amid feud

Mitchell, who hadn’t held public office until she was elected mayor, said said she decided to run after former mayor JoAnn Wilson chose not to seek re-election. Mitchell ran on a platform of calling out Rhome’s government over what she said was a lack of transparency.

Her narrow victory over McCabe highlighted the political divisions in the city, which is located about 15 miles southeast of Decatur, the county seat.

But McCabe, who did not request a vote recount because of the cost, said he is not a “sore loser.”

McCabe said Mitchell’s actions could have consequences as Rhome is seeing major growth and development taking shape with new homes and retail, changing the rural landscape of Wise County.

Rhome sits at the intersection of two major highways, Texas 114 and U.S. 287. With major development imminent, Wise County is expected to see rapid population growth. According to the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the county’s population will jump from approximately 68,000 to 105,797 residents by 2045.

Rhome is also part of the booming Northwest school district, which is expecting 100,000 students in the next 25 to 30 years. The district straddles Wise, Denton and Tarrant counties.

McCabe said that Prairie Point, which includes around 1,100 homes and commercial development, is in the Rhome city limits.

Another development, Reunion, will bring an estimated 10,000 homes, and will be in Rhome’s extra-territorial jurisdiction. The developer is paying for a police officer, firefighter and equipment for both positions. There is also land for an urgent care center, he said.

McCabe said he worries that Rhome won’t have qualified employees to handle what is coming.

But Mitchell countered that she is aware of the impending growth, but she worries about what residents are currently facing as they deal with steep increases to water and sewer rates that also affect businesses.

“I’m more concerned with the here and now with people living here and how decisions are impacting our residents,” she said.

This report includes information from Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published September 8, 2022 5:30 AM.