City of San Benito, residents react to recent political woes

SAN BENITO, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The City of San Benito held an informal town hall Wednesday evening where residents could choose the issues that impact them the most within the city.

The meeting was first announced last week after the city announced a petition to recall city officials had failed to move forward.

And one day after the city promised to take action after a Cameron County judge voided the city's charter election.

The ruling cites that the city did not provide enough information about the propositions to the community. After weeks of not taking questions over the city’s recall petition and charter election, the city of San Benito finally provided some insight as to what issues they are tackling within their community.

Resident Lori Flores also voiced her views on those concerns.

“I think that the citizens that have issues with the city," Flores said. "Need to take it off of social media and bring it to actual meetings where their voices can be heard, and to get to the root of whatever issues that they feel are unresolved.”

That is exactly what Flores did. She made sure to provide a suggestion for every single topic being considered by the city.

These ranged from economic development to infrastructure, jobs, and planning and zoning for the city's 20-year master plan. However, the recall petition and voided election were top of mind for some community members in attendance.

Eddie Loa, who spearheaded the petition, said he is simply looking for transparency from city officials.

“All I want is just fairness," Loa said. "Hear me out and try to get a resolution and fix the problem.”

Loa said he is hopeful to get a response soon as to why the petition is not moving forward.

San Benito City Manager Fred Sandoval said the “small vocal minority” did not get enough signatures.

“They submitted their petitions with all their signatures, and when we counted them last Friday and recounted them yesterday, none of them met the minimum," the city manager said. "They were all less than 300 so there was no need to move forward.”

Julian Rios, who filed the lawsuit against the city over the election and helped gather signatures, said their push will continue.

“If signatures is what we needed, and there is nothing else wrong with the petitions, then signatures is what we will work on," Rios said.

As for the city’s actions on the voided election, Sandoval said that is still a ‘work in progress’ as they consult with their legal counsel.

“We're studying that right now," Sandoval said. "We're working with our legal team to see what our what our options are, and what we can do.”

Sandoval added this was the first of many workshops to discuss their master plan. He said a concrete plan will be ready in about six months.