HARLINGEN — City records show City Commissioner Frank Puente wrote eight bad checks to the city between 2019 and 2020, while his payment for a requested recount of a 2016 election wasn’t fully paid until last month.
On Monday, Puente, who is running for re-election to his District 2 seat, said he had mistakenly written the checks from a checking account for which he had forgotten to transfer money.
Meanwhile, he made his last payment of $22.50 toward the city’s $300 charge for his requested 2016 election recount on Feb. 25, 2022, Irma Garza, the city’s spokeswoman, said Monday.
Puente, who claimed political emenies had disclosed the information, said he was unaware he owed money for the 2016 recount because the city hadn’t sent him an invoice.
Bad checks
Records show Puente wrote eight checks from an account lacking sufficient funds between July 9, 2019, and June 15, 2020, according to city records obtained through the Texas Public Information Act.
>> On July 9, 2019, he wrote a check for $126.40, which was returned on July 15, 2019.
>> On July 10, 2019, he wrote a check for $110.40, which returned paid on July 16, 2019.
>> On Feb. 3, 2020, he wrote a check for $38.40, which was returned on March 12, 2020.
>> On Feb. 27, 2020, he wrote a check for $65.20, which was returned on March 9, 2020.
>> On Feb. 29, 2020, he wrote a check for $32, which was returned on March 10, 2020.
>> On March 11, 2020, he wrote a check for $81.20, which was returned on March 10, 2020.
>> On May 13, 2020, he wrote a check for $101.20, which was returned on May 19, 2020.
>> On June 15, 2020, he wrote a check for $116.80, which was returned on June 19, 2020.
The city charges $25 for each bad check it processes, according to a city ordinance.
Puente: ‘Funds hadn’t been transferred’
On Monday, Puente said he had mistakenly written the checks from an account for which he had forgotten to transfer money.
Puente, who owns a roofing company, said he was trying to pay the city for use of its old landfill site.
“We just used the wrong checking account,” he said. “Sometimes there’s not enough funds so we transfer the money to the correct account. Sometimes I’ll forget to transfer the money. The money’s there. The funds hadn’t been transferred.”
‘No invoice’ for $300 recount
Puente said the city didn’t send him an invoice for his requested $300 recount of the 2016 election in which former Commissioner Tudor Uhlhorn defeated him by a 22-vote margin.
“I was never invoiced for the recount,” he said. “I had no idea I even owed anything. It was brought to my attention a couple of months ago.”
‘Dirty politics’
Puente said political enemies disclosed the information because he is running for a second term in the race for the city commission’s District 2 seat.
“It’s dirty politics,” he said. “I guess it’s desperate measures. It’s sad they would take these measures instead of running on their own merit. I would expect it from some of my opponents.”
