The ouster of Lorenzo “Lencho” Cabrera, Place 5 alderman on the Edcouch City Council, is back on the table, according to a copy of the agenda for Thursday’s meeting.
“Discussion and possible action of the removal of Alderman LORENZO CABRERA from the City of Edcouch Council for malfeasance and misappropriation of funds related to monies specifically given for travel and mileage that ultimately lead to his arrest,” reads Item H of the agenda.
The city has been trying to remove Cabrera since late April, when the subject was first placed on an agenda.
However, his removal was twice delayed — first, due to a lack of quorum at an April 21 meeting, and again, when Cabrera served Edcouch with a temporary restraining order ahead of a May 5 meeting.
Cabrera sought to stop Edcouch from attempting to remove him from office months after he was arrested on theft charges in what he claims was political retaliation.
On Oct. 6, 2021, Cabrera was arrested for theft by a public servant.
The charge stems from a 2019 trip he and other city officials took to Austin for a Texas Municipal League conference. The city issued checks for mileage and per diem expenses to those who attended the conference, including Cabrera.
But now officials allege that Cabrera was not entitled to the mileage reimbursement because he had traveled to Austin as a passenger in the assistant city manager’s vehicle.
They say Cabrera committed theft by allegedly keeping the money.
But the alderman contends that the criminal allegation didn’t surface until he began publicly supporting a slate of candidates who sought to unseat the mayor and two aldermen last November.
Cabrera switched allegiances in order to support the new slate of candidates. Everything the city has accused him of afterward is a direct result of that political shift, he claims.
Meanwhile, his TRO against the city remained in effect until an injunction hearing on July 13.
There, rather than pressing arguments that would prohibit the city from attempting to remove his client, Jonathan Muñoz, Cabrera’s attorney, instead conceded that the alderman would have been satisfied if the city had just been more specific with the agenda’s language.
Sensing a doable compromise after a nearly three-hour long hearing, the judge agreed, and advised Edcouch City Attorney Orlando “O.J.” Jimenez to submit a proposed order to that effect.
Jimenez did so and the judge signed it last Friday.
That order opened the door for Edcouch officials to put the Cabrera’s potential ouster back on Thursday’s agenda, though it remains unclear if there are enough votes on the five-person council to push it through.
Cabrera, along with two other aldermen — Joel Segura and Robert Gutierrez — are currently embroiled in separate litigation against the city.
The trio claim the city was purposefully refusing to add items to meeting agendas which they were sponsoring.
Items can be added to an Edcouch agenda by the mayor, city manager, or by the joint request of two aldermen.
The three aldermen sought, in part, to consider severing Jimenez’s legal services contract after the city attorney submitted — then rescinded — a letter of resignation earlier this year.
Edcouch fired back by counter suing the three aldermen for libeling the city, Mayor Virginio “Virgil” Gonzalez and City Manager Victor Hugo de la Cruz.
That case remains pending while the judge considers the arguments made during a hearing in May.
If the council does vote to remove Cabrera from office, that decision may also prevent the alderman — who has declared his intent to run for reelection this November — from ever holding office in Edcouch again.
That’s because the city argued in court last week that Cabrera’s removal should be considered under Sec. 22.009 of the Texas Local Government Code, which describes the removal of public officers for malfeasance.
“On the complaint of a person who has an interest in the affected funds, the officer shall be removed from office and is ineligible to hold any office in that municipality after removal,” reads the statute, in part.
However, Cabrera’s removal is not the only item of note listed on Thursday’s agenda.
The council is also set to hold two public hearings regarding amendments to the city charter.
In the first, the council will entertain comment about extending the council’s terms to the statutory maximum of four years, instead of the current two.
In the second, the council will consider whether the mayor and aldermen must pay a filing fee.
