EDINBURG — Three former economic development board members said Wednesday they voluntarily left their positions due to time constraints.
Julio Carranza, Isael Posadas and Noe Sauceda said the time required to actively participate on the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation board conflicted with their businesses.
Carranza, owner of Carranza Development LLC, said the “long, but productive” meetings conflicted with the growth of his company.
“I have a lot of new developments coming up, and that’s really taking up all of my time,” he said. “I don’t feel that it would be a service to the community to not be available 100 percent of the time.”
Posadas, the owner of a local engineering firm, echoed that sentiment.
“I requested to be off the board because of the amount of time it was taking,” he said. “Ultimately, I think I can be more effective if I participate in projects, well no, not projects, but assist the city in other ways.”
Sauceda said he spoke about stepping down with Mayor Richard Molina when he first accepted the position four months ago. Spring is the busiest time for his teacher-certification business, Teacher Builder, because that’s when it focuses on statewide recruitment efforts.
“I figured I’d be the only one that would have to be replaced,” Sauceda said. “I just wish I had more time to put into it.”
Their abrupt departure from the EDC board caused a stir during a city meeting Tuesday when council members voted themselves in as their replacements, leaving only Councilman Homer Jasso Jr. out of the equation.
Mike Farias, an Edinburg school trustee, is the only member of the EDC board who does not also sit on the Edinburg council.
Shortly after the replacements were announced, many of Molina’s critics insinuated he had pushed the members out, but the former board members disputed that accusation.
“That’s going to be the furthest from the truth,” Posadas said. “As a matter of fact, there was no pressure from anybody on the council on the decisions I’ve made so far — never any undue influence on me.”
All three former board members said they were confident the EDC would continue to move forward with the help of its new executive director, Joey Treviño, and the new board members.
“I didn’t think the task would be this difficult,” Sauceda said. “I now have a newfound respect for public servants … it’s work. It doesn’t happen by itself. Someone’s gotta do it.”
And as far as Edinburg’s future, they all remained optimistic.
“I feel that there are now a lot of people that are watching Edinburg, and I’m confident that there are enough eyes and ears out there that people will be held accountable for elected officials’ actions,” Posadas said. “But I’m very optimistic in the future of Edinburg.”
