Impact of defamation ruling unclear

EDINBURG -- He said there was no other way to stop her.

Ester Salinas approached neighbors to criticize their support of Mission Mayor Norberto "Beto" Salinas, telling them he was corrupt. She told a reporter that she'd heard from another mayor that Salinas was trying to have her killed. In city meetings, her criticisms crossed the line from ordinary political speech to malicious lies, Beto Salinas said.

Dedicated to her cause and sure of the essential righteousness of her quest to take down the mayor, Ester Salinas continued to speak out. But after a lengthy, drawn-out civil suit, a jury verdict may silence her.

Two weeks ago, a Hidalgo County jury agreed with the mayor and Economic Development Authority Director Pat Townsend Jr., leveling $40,000 in penalties against Ester Salinas for defaming both men.

It was not clear what the long-term implications of the verdict would be. Attorneys and clients alike said they are still under an order not to speak to the media about the case.

Courtroom observers said the 206th District Court Judge Rose Guerra Reyna did not impose any long-term orders on Ester Salinas requiring her not to speak about the plaintiffs.

Beto Salinas, who did not mention the gag order and was the only player willing to speak after the trial, said he will take Ester back to court if he hears she is calling him a murderer or drug dealer again.

"This is not about money, it's about people finding out that they just can't do that," he said.

In recent years, high-profile defamation suits have been filed in order to retaliate against political speech considered unfair and malicious. But the Townsend v. Salinas case was different; while most of those cases were filed against political rivals over a single public statement and advertisement during an election, this one was intended to silence Salinas' ongoing attacks, in private forums as well as public ones.

Ester Salinas is the highest-profile advocate for residents of a south Mission neighborhood who were exposed to chemicals mixed at a 1950s-era pesticide plant there. In recent years, her rhetoric and behavior have distanced her from one-time allies, including Mayor Salinas, and turned fellow activists against her.

Few were quick to come to her defense after the verdict.

"Her intent was trying to make negative statement about the mayor and Pat Townsend ... and I don't think that was fair for them," said Roque Duran, a Hayes-Sammons chemical contamination activist who has clashed with Ester for years.

Duran was not concerned that Ester's right to free political speech might be infringed, or that his own right to advocate for the victims of chemical contamination might be limited by the ruling.

"She was trying to bring them down," he said. "She was doing it in a political manner, to get the mayor out of there."

Beto Salinas agreed that there was a difference between legitimate political speech and the attacks made against him.

"Where did she cross the line? When she said I was a drug dealer and that I was killing babies," he said.

"I've been in politics a long time and I've been called a lot of names," he added. "That's allowable. ... (But) she's been lying about me and Pat and what she said was very bad."

The issue of Ester Salinas' motivations for her actions became central to the case. Plaintiff's attorneys claimed that she had a major financial stake in keeping the case high-profile and ongoing, even as a civil case against chemical transporters and manufacturers worked its slow way through the court system.

Salinas had a contract with the attorneys handling that civil suit, entitling her to some fees in exchange for her help doing research and outreach to victims; she received at least $30,000 from it, according to testimony.

"It's all drama - and she's trying to gain from the movie rights and the book rights," Duran said.

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Sara Perkins covers Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4472.