DONNA — By a vote of 3-to-1, the city council here rehired the city manager and city attorney whom they had forced out earlier this year.
The votes to reappoint Carlos Yerena as city manager and Javier Villalobos as city attorney occurred during a special meeting of the Donna City Council on Monday and represent yet another chapter in the saga of fickle political alliances among the city’s leaders.
Outgoing City Attorney Robert Salinas, who was brought on after Villalobos was fired in late February, addressed the council and intimated that political machinations may have led to his ouster.
“Mayor, I want to thank the commission for the opportunity of having served the city. I humbly and respectfully submit that I do not believe that this decision was made in the best interest of the city,” Salinas said.
“But I’m an attorney, I’m a professional man. I respect the decisions of the majority of the council. And I feel that — since I’ve been replaced — I have no further room at the dais. … Thank you, gentlemen,” he said, before leaving the city council chamber.
The council went on to conduct the rest of the meeting without any legal representation present, since Villalobos did not attend Monday’s meeting.
Just moments earlier, the council voted to reappoint Yerena as city manager, as well. His predecessor, interim City Manager Frank Perez, was not present.
“First, I want to thank the commission. I’m here, and I’m from Donna, and I want what’s for the best interest of Donna,” Yerena said, jumping immediately into the city manager role to explain an agenda item relating to the international bridge.
Speaking after the meeting, Yerena said he would be serving in two capacities — as city manager and as executive director of the Donna-Rio Bravo International Bridge.
Yerena was appointed to serve as the bridge director shortly after stepping down as city manager in mid-March.
But his departure as city manager had been less than voluntary.
Initially, the city council was expected to terminate his employment three days after firing Villalobos, according to a copy of a Feb. 25 special meeting agenda.
However, the attempt to remove Yerena faltered after a local resident filed for a temporary restraining order to stop the council from taking any action against him.
The TRO, filed by a woman named Rachel Martinez, claimed that a faction of the city council was engaged in a civil conspiracy that was “rampag(ing) and destroying our city.”
The conspiracy allegedly involved Councilmen Oscar Gonzalez, David Moreno and Joey Garza, who had formed a new voting majority on the council.
That conspiracy included Yerena’s and Villalobos’ ouster, as well as the appointment of the assistant police chief, and the reinstatement of Donna Municipal Judge Javier Garza’s pay from $50 per year to $30,000, the TRO complaint alleged.
Councilman Garza and Judge Garza are brothers.
For its part, the city responded in kind to Martinez’s allegations of dirty politics.
The city accused her of having a vested interest in the dispute because she “has offices… at the same office owned by the former City attorney Javier Villalobos,” and that she was “disgruntled” after the November 2020 election caused a shakeup in Donna’s political majority.
The complaint fizzled out, however, when Yerena stepped down as city manager on March 18.
If Councilman Garza had been part of a political alliance with Moreno and Gonzalez, that was no longer the case on Monday — at least, not in regard to Yerena and Villalobos.
Garza voted in favor of reappointing both men.
The lone voice of dissent was that of David Moreno, who voted “nay” on both items.
Both he and Ricardo “Richie” Moreno — no relation — ran on a joint slate with Mayor Rick Morales in the November 2020 election. Not long after winning, however, David Moreno joined the voting bloc that included Gonzalez, who had also previously run for office on a slate with the mayor.
Gonzalez was not present at Monday’s special meeting.
Meanwhile, over the last few years, the position of city attorney has been a revolving door that has seen Villalobos walking through more than once.
Villalobos stepped down from the position in December 2019 after about eight years of service. He cited conflicts with his schedule as the reason for his departure.
The McAllen attorney is prolific, representing several governing entities in addition to his civil, criminal and family court clients. At the time, he also served as a McAllen city commissioner.
Donna rehired him less than a year later, just days after the November 2020 election — a position he held until his ouster on Feb. 22 of this year.
