After resignation, Hidalgo mayor shouldn?t be held over until election, councilmen say

February 24, 2012 10:52 PM

HIDALGO ? If Mayor John David Franz wants to resign, he should quit effective immediately instead of waiting until voters elect a replacement on May 12.

That?s the gist of a letter two elected officials sent to City Manager Joe Vera III on Thursday, requesting an item be placed on the next Hidalgo City Council agenda ?declaring forfeiture of the position of city mayor based on his failure to comply with the city charter.? Mayor Franz repeatedly missed city meetings and doesn?t actually live in Hidalgo, according to the letter.

?Why wait until May?? said Councilman Pedro Fonseca, who took office nearly 30 years ago and said he couldn?t recall anyone ever missing six consecutive meetings. ?If you want to leave, leave.?

Mayor Franz, who wasn?t up for re-election until 2014, resigned Tuesday after missing six consecutive City Council meetings, saying his Pharr home had become a distraction. The announcement came with a caveat: a holdover provision allows Mayor Franz to continue his duties until voters pick a replacement on May 12.

?Obviously, whoever wrote the letter didn?t check the facts,? Mayor Franz said. All of his absences were excused, a fact reflected in meeting minutes, and Texas law allows him to serve as mayor because Hidalgo is his legal residence.

Besides, Mayor Franz said, the move would have no effect.

?You can?t remove someone who?s already vacated an office,? Mayor Franz said. ?We?ll let them get educated on the holdover provision in Texas law.?

Both Fonseca and Councilman Dan Dillard II signed the letter, dated Thursday. They?re members of the Concerned Citizens of Hidalgo, a political machine headed by Rudy Franz, the mayor?s uncle and political opponent. The Concerned Citizens and the mayor?s political committee, Community United, are vigorously contesting May?s municipal election.

Mayor Franz addressed the residency issue, long an open secret in Hidalgo, when he resigned, saying it?d become a distraction in the heated city council race.

?I won?t allow myself to be a distraction to the Community United candidates seeking office in May. This is not a residency issue as the law is well settled that I qualify to serve as mayor,? Mayor Franz said.

The mayor?s official residence is 809 E. Texano Drive in Hidalgo. That?s the home of Councilwoman Siglinde Franz, the mayor?s mother. Most nights, though, Mayor Franz sleeps at 2101 S. Lili Drive, Pharr, where his wife owns a home.

Mayor Franz also missed six consecutive meetings between Nov. 8 and Feb. 21, according to meeting minutes and attendance recorded by a Monitor reporter. A seventh was canceled for lack of quorum.

In a prior interview, Mayor Franz said his son needed surgery in December, which forced him to miss several meetings. When a delinquent tax contract became contentious, Mayor Franz said he skipped meetings to avoid a potential conflict of interest. And on Valentine?s Day, Franz went skiing with his wife in Steamboat Springs, Colo., instead of attending the regularly scheduled meeting.

The letter alleges that three absences last year were unexcused; that information couldn?t be verified by deadline Friday, but Mayor Franz said all of his absences were excused.

?Well, it has Rudy Franz written all over it,? Mayor Franz said when asked about the letter. ?It?s just an attempt to deflect attention from his problems and the problems ?Concerned for Themselves Citizens? have and try to create a fire elsewhere.?

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Dave Hendricks covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at dhendricks@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4452.

Source: http://www.themonitor.com/news/hidalgo-58988-mayor-resignation.html

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