Critics: Hidalgo mayor's resignation insufficient

HIDALGO — Unsatisfied with advice from the city attorney, members of the Hidalgo City Council said Tuesday night they’ll seek an opinion from Texas’ attorney general on whether Mayor John David Franz may be removed from office — despite having already resigned.

The political power play came exactly one week after Mayor Franz announced his resignation, but said he’d remain Hidalgo’s top elected official until May 12, when voters elect his replacement. Unsatisfied, his detractors suggested the City Council forcibly remove Mayor Franz from office immediately.

City Attorney Stephen Crain told the City Council on Tuesday night that a hearing must be held before members vote to forcibly remove Mayor Franz, but even if that happened, he’d still be held over until Election Day.

Unsatisfied, Councilmen Dan Dillard II, Pedro Fonseca and Guillermo Ramirez said they’d like an opinion from the Texas attorney general.

“We need to see the legal options that we have and once we see what the legal options are, we’ll see how we move forward,” Ramirez said.

Mayor Franz missed numerous meetings and doesn’t actually live in Hidalgo, Dillard said, and that should be enough for him to be removed.

Dillard referred to a Monitor article that “mentioned that I owe some money on a house in McAllen.”

But, he said, “that’s not my home. My home is here.

“(Mayor Franz’s) legal residence is here, which is his mom’s residence. He doesn’t live there,” Dillard said. “He himself says ‘my home in Pharr.’ That’s his words, right? ‘My home in Pharr has caused a distraction.’ And we’re just holding him to that.

“That is his home in Pharr,” Dillard said. “Go home and leave us alone.”

Until recently, all three councilmen had been aligned with the Concerned Citizens of Hidalgo, which is headed by Rudy Franz, the mayor’s uncle and political opponent. After a nasty falling out in late 2010, Mayor Franz and his supporters formed a rival political group called Community United.

On Monday, though, Fonseca called The Monitor to say he was an independent, not a member of the Concerned Citizens. Fonseca said he’d once been a member, but refused to say when he left the group. Asked about Fonseca’s statement, Rudy Franz reacted with surprise, saying Fonseca hadn’t resigned or been kicked out, and was still a member.

Regardless, Fonseca pushed forward Tuesday night, quizzing the attorney on what other elected officials could do to eject Mayor Franz from office before Election Day.

After the meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Alvin Samano, one of the mayor’s allies, said he didn’t understand why the councilmen pressed forward with the moot point.

“I really don’t know,” Samano said. “Maybe they’re trying to get the mayor not to attend the meetings.”

In an interview, Dillard appeared to agree.

“We just want to get it settled and everybody go to where they belong,” Dillard said. “Let’s carry on with city government.”

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Dave Hendricks covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at dhendricks@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4452.

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