EDITOR’S NOTE: A version of this story ran last week and has been updated to include all applicant names.
Odessa’s new Associate Municipal Court Judge Keith W. Kidd started his new job on Monday with an annual salary of $95,000, Odessa city records detail.
The original job posting listed the salary at $79,260.
Odessa City Council unanimously approved Kidd’s hiring on May 11. Kidd was one of 14 candidates who applied for the position.
Kidd’s hiring was not reported immediately because city officials refused to release any information about Kidd, or any of the applicants, even though such information is considered public.
After filing a Freedom of Information Request for all the applicants’ names and resumes through the city’s request portal, the city provided the information for the two finalists for the position – Kidd and Arlington-based Attorney Alisha Darden.
An email including the names and resumes for the other candidates were emailed to the OA separately but ended up in a spam folder where it was not noticed.
City officials and the OA discovered the miscommunication on Monday.
The other candidates included Darice N. Shaw, a Lancaster, TX-based attorney advisor for the United States Small Business Administration, Johanna Curry, a deputy district attorney in the Odessa District Attorney, Robert G. Bond, a former assistant district attorney in the Felony Division for Midland County, Caren Presley, a Houston-based staff attorney for Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, Kathryn Chandler, a Midland-based land specialist, and Megan Ford, an assistant general counsel and vice president for Houston-based AIG Investments.
Additional candidates were Michael T. Cherryhomes, an Abilene-based attorney, Mike Nguyen, an associate attorney with Houston-based Vivian H. Phan Law Firm, PLLC, Robin McCarthy, a Miami, FL-based attorney for the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals, Ronald R. Mackell Jr., a supervising attorney for Austin-based Texas Workforce Commission, Wayne R. Nelson, an administrative law judge for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, and WR. Barrow, former supervisor for San Antonio-based A.H. Beck Foundation.
In their response to the OA’s FOIA request, city officials stated there is no employment contract with Kidd.
Kidd could not be reached for comment.
