UPDATE: Hernandez takes ‘high road’ in dropping suits

San Benito's former Mayor Joe H. Hernandez is shown outside the Municipal Building after announcing his intentions to run for his old mayoral post. Hernandez announced Thursday his intentions to dismiss his federal lawsuit against the city. (File photo)

NEWS Staff Report

Citing “partisan politics and power grabbing,” former San Benito Mayor Joe H. Hernandez announced Thursday morning his intentions to drop his state and federal lawsuits against the City of San Benito in an effort to “take the high road.”

Hernandez initially filed a temporary injunction in the 445th Judicial District Court in Brownsville in February of 2010 in an attempt to block the city from what commissioners – then Pl. 1 Rene Farias, Pl. 2 Jack Garcia, Pl. 3 Bill Elliott and Pl. 4 Celeste Z. Sanchez – deemed an automatic forfeiture of Hernandez’s then-mayoral capacity based on the strength of City Attorney Jan Cassidy’s legal opinion that Hernandez violated the city charter by owing back taxes to the city during his term in office.

According to the charter language, a forfeiture of office occurs when a city commission member forfeits their office if they lack at any time during their term any qualification prescribed in the charter or by law, which includes paying all taxes due to the city.

District Judge Rolando Olvera of the 445th court eventually ruled in favor of the City of San Benito, which was represented in this case by Brownsville defense attorney Ernesto Gamez; Hernandez was represented by now-current Weslaco Mayor Miguel D. Wise.

Then in May of last year, Hernandez filed in the United States District Court in McAllen (the case was eventually transferred to Judge Hilda Tagle’s courtroom in the United States Southern District of Texas in Brownsville) a lawsuit in which he sought a similar temporary restraining order (TRO) barring the city from preventing Hernandez from performing his duties as mayor.

In the TRO, Hernandez also sought, albeit unsuccessfully, to block the city from holding a special election to fill current Mayor Jack Garcia’s vacated Pl. 2 Commissioner’s post following Garcia’s appointment to his present office, a move the commission approved as per city charter language which states the mayor pro-tem assumes the office of mayor in the event of a vacancy. The election also filled the vacancy of Pl. 1 Commissioner Rene Farias, who stepped down after Hernandez revealed in a January 2010 meeting, the one in which commissioners recognized his forfeiture of office as mayor, that Farias had also owed back taxes to the city at one point during Farias’ term.

In a June 9 San Benito News article, it was reported that, according to federal court documents obtained from the Southern District of Texas Brownsville Division, Hernandez’s TRO was denied. Court proceedings in Hernandez’s lawsuit, in which it was initially reported that Hernandez sought damages for “lost wages and mental anguish,” have since been pending in federal court.

As first reported on the San Benito News website, www.sbnewspaper.com, Hernandez is now deciding to dismiss his lawsuits.

With critical words targeted at Mayor Jack Garcia, Hernandez’s opponent in the May 14 mayoral election, the embattled former mayor made the following statement: “While partisan politics and power grabbing has been the hallmark of my opponent’s office-holding tactics, I will take the high road for the hard-working families of San Benito, Texas and let them decide who their next mayor will be. Therefore, I am announcing that I will be dismissing the lawsuits that I filed after I was illegally removed from office by my opponent. I would rather beat my opponent in the polls than at the courthouse.”

Hernandez’s statement further read that the lawsuits were filed “to expose the dirty politics of those that removed me from office” rather than to seek monetary damages from the city.

Below is Joe H. Hernandez’s statement, released Thursday morning, March 10, 2011:

Mayoral candidate Joe H. Hernandez issued a formal statement Thursday, March 10, announcing his decision to drop his pending lawsuit against the City of San Benito.

San Benito, TX – “While partisan politics and power grabbing has been the hallmark of my opponent’s office-holding tactics, I will take the high road for the hard-working families of San Benito, Texas and let them decide who their next mayor will be. Therefore, I am announcing that I will be dismissing the lawsuits that I filed after I was illegally removed from office by my opponent. I would rather beat my opponent in the polls than at the courthouse,” said Mayoral Candidate Joe H. Hernandez as he announced his dismissal of his state court and federal lawsuit.

Discussing his reason for filing the lawsuits, Hernandez said, “Unlike the rumors circulating around town, I filed these lawsuits not to obtain money from the city but to expose the dirty politics of those that removed me from office. With the election around the comer, I would rather put that behind me and concentrate on my election to restore me as Mayor of San Benito.”

“The citizens of San Benito spoke loudly at the polls last May that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. I believe they do so again this May by electing me their next mayor,” continued Hernandez. “The hard-working families of San Benito deserve better and I will restore integrity at City Hall.”

Discussing San Benito’s future, he said, “San Benito is the place I love and call home. It is vibrant and growing. To spur economic development, businesses need to know and be reassured that integrity and accountability will be restored in our city government. That was my goal as your former mayor and will continue to be my cornerstone as your next mayor.”