Coolidge council fires City Hall staff, police chief resigns

The Coolidge City Council terminated the employment of the city secretary and the assistant water clerk and accepted the resignation of the police chief at its Thursday, April 10, meeting.

The firings of City Secretary Mickey Runion and Assistant Water Clerk Jeana McDade and the acceptance of Chief of Police Winson Brewer's resignation followed an executive session, said Mayor 
Tonia Bruckner, who attributed the part-time employees' dismissals to complaints from citizens.

"I did clean house," said Bruckner, who asked the council in January to approve spending $3,500 for a desk enclosure at City Hall to protect city staff from angry residents complaining about water bills. "I don't ever want citizens to feel uncomfortable coming to City Hall. We had a lot of complaints."

The morning after her firing, Runion said she was shocked by her termination. "I think everyone is shocked, but the residents will see," said Runion, who also serves as the part-time city secretary for the City of Bynum and was hired by the City of Coolidge in July 2024. "I am saddened not to get to stay. I don't know what else to tell you. I feel like I did a wonderful job."

Runion replaced longtime Coolidge City Secretary Gay Pranger who resigned to accept a position with the City of Teague.

Efforts by The Mexia News to contact McDade were unsuccessful. The council changed her status from a temporary employee to permanent part-time a month ago at its March meeting.

Brewer declined to comment on the reason for his resignation, other than to say he wanted a change and had not expected to work for that long in Coolidge. He started the job about 18 months ago, he said.

"It's just time," Brewer said, noting that he expects to make much more with an opportunity he is considering. "I did what was best for my family and me."

Bruckner said she is currently running City Hall with the help of a new temporary employee. The city will begin looking for replacements for the office workers and the police chief, she said.

An alert went out by email April 11, saying the city would be accepting applications for all three positions.