NEWS Staff Report
The San Benito City Commission appointed Carlos Yerena as interim city manager at a special-called meeting on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
“We were seeking a leader to help move San Benito forward,” said San Benito Mayor Pedro “Pete” Galvan. “With his experience and commitment to public service, we believe he will be a strong fit for our city. We have a great deal of work ahead, and we look forward to welcoming Carlos Yerena.”
Yerena will serve on an interim basis pending contract finalization and is expected to begin immediately, according to a statement from the City of San Benito Community Relations Director Cristina Marie Garcia.
At the same meeting, the San Benito City Commission reviewed City Manager Fred Sandoval’s resignation.
According to the meeting agenda, Commissioners also discussed the process, timeline, and recruitment procedures for selecting a permanent City Manager to replace Sandoval.
As previously reported, on May 7, 2024, San Benito City Commissioners met in closed session with Sandoval to discuss his one-year contract, including a six-month probationary period.
The Commission ultimately decided to grant Sandoval a new three-year contract with a $150,000 salary, a $15,000 increase from his previous compensation plan with the City.
Replacing the previous City Manager, Manuel De La Rosa, in October 2023, Sandoval took the helm of the City’s operations and, a mere four months later, also assumed the role of economic development director for the San Benito Economic Development Corporation (EDC), replacing then-director Ramiro Aleman, who left the post in December 2023, shortly after Sandoval’s hiring.
With prior experience as both City Manager and EDC Executive Director for the City of Pharr, he was the ideal candidate for the City of San Benito’s economic development plans, according to then-Mayor Ricardo “Rick” Guerra of San Benito.
Guerra also had much to say about the salary, affirming that Sandoval is “underpaid by the City” and that typical pay, compared with other cities, is “in the $180,000-$200,000 range.”
In that deal, Sandoval was aiming to receive a total of $225,000 through his combined package, with $150,000 as City Manager and $75,000 as EDC executive director.
This compares with his predecessors: former City Manager De La Rosa, who received $175,000, and former EDC executive director Ramiro Aleman, who received $103,000 before resigning.
Guerra lost his bid for reelection to Galvan in May, after navigating several controversies since Sandoval’s hiring, including a legal quagmire over the Resaca Village commercial development along Business 77 and a highly controversial $1M concert series last year that reportedly led to revenue losses.
Guerra and Sandoval’s tenure brought economic growth to Resaca City, marked by commercial and residential development and improved infrastructure.
Meanwhile, many citizens expressed surprise at Yerena’s appointment, believing the interim post should be filled by a top-level city administrator who’s less controversial and has a less polarizing personal and legal history.
“Good old San Benito striding for excellence,” Santos San Pedro sarcastically protested on Facebook.
Cindy Gonzales Cavazos posted, “Wow, and you think Sandoval was bad? Here comes worse. How quickly they found someone to fill in. Wonder if he was already in talks before the elections?”
Jaime Rodriguez asked, “Whose idea was (to appoint) this guy?”
Recent Comments