Conroe reverses ban on virtual executive session attendance 11%
By Catherine Dominguez10%
7/13/2026, 5:52:01 PM
Topics: Conroe City Council, Olson And Amp, David Hairel, Duke Coon, Mike Garner, Arthur, John Sellars, Loren Smith, Shana Arthur, Olson Llp, Conroe, Montgomery County, Houston
Keywords: Conroecp
BS Summary: This article contains 1 faulty reasoning type, including Ad Hominem, with Ad Hominem as the most egregious example at 3.6% saturation with 12 hits. Analysis detected 12 faulty-reasoning hits from 331 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 28% and a BS Rank of 11% (13,860 of 15,517 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 89.30% of the article peer group.
The Conroe City Council repealed a resolution last week and will now allow members to attend executive session virtually.
The resolution passed 3-2 Thursday, with council members Shana Arthur and David Hairel voting against.
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Mayor Duke Coon, who reintroduced the issue to the council, said the city should not “police elected officials.”
“Let’s stop the nonsense; let’s stop the grandstanding,” Coon said.
“Have some faith in your elected officials.”
Arthur asked how they could ensure that council members were in a location where they could keep city matters confidential.
“I support keeping executive sessions in person,” Arthur said.
“These meetings involve confidential legal, personal and litigation matters and I believe we should do everything possible to protect attorney-client privilege and confidentiality.”
However, Councilman John Sellars fired back at Arthur, calling the issue “ludicrous.”
“Why did this come about at all?
That’s what I am not understanding,” Sellars said.
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After saying at length that he opposed virtual attendance, Hairel said he was aware of confidentiality issues with previous council members but declined to provide specific details.
In April 2025, the council passed a resolution barring members from attending virtually after former City Attorney Mike Garner raised concerns that discussions held in executive session under the attorney-client privilege might be overheard by others during virtual attendance.
Garner said he had been made aware of occasions when information discussed during executive session had been overheard by people who were not council members, but did not provide additional details at that time.
Arthur asked interim City Attorney Loren Smith with Houston-based Olson & Olson LLP, for advice on allowing members to attend virtually.
“Each member has a fiduciary duty to those they represent, and it is their duty to make sure those violations do not happen,” Smith said.
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