Edinburg City Council unanimously appointed City Secretary Myra L. Ayala as the interim city manager effective Wednesday.
Ayala will replace former Edinburg City Manager Ron Garza, who announced his imminent departure in January.
Ayala first joined the city of Edinburg in August 1998 and has since served in multiple capacities including senior secretary, records supervisor, and director of business operations and marketing for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, the city said in a news release.
Ayala has served in her role as city secretary for more than 15 years.
“Ms. Ayala has dedicated more than 20 years to serving the city of Edinburg and its citizens,” Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. said in the release. “Her knowledge, integrity, and years of experience will provide stability to city operations and staff as we transition and continue our nationwide search for a city manager.”
Garza’s last day with the city was Tuesday.
He had announced his resignation in early January in order to take a position with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. There, he will serve as associate vice president of workforce and economic development and will focus on working with cities to boost those two sectors.
Before being hired as Edinburg city manager in February 2020, he served as executive director of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council.
A few days after Garza announced his resignation, the city council agreed to contract Strategic Government Resources, an executive recruitment firm that serves local governments nationwide, to help solicit applications for the city manager position.
Though the council authorized him to enter into a contract with SGR in January, the hiring process is expected to take a few months.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the council gave the former city manager authorization to enter into a contract with SGR.
