Progreso City Council can’t agree on how to fix election problems

PROGRESO, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The city of Progreso may not be able to hold an election in November because the City Council can’t agree how many positions should appear on the ballot.

With the City Council deadlocked, the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office or the Texas Attorney General's Office may be asked to set Progreso straight.

“It’s very unfortunate that we’re denying people the right to run for City Council,” said Mayor Hugo Gamboa.

While it’s clear Progreso needs to hold an election in November, how many City Council seats must appear on the ballot is a tricky question.

Losing Track of Time

Progreso is governed by a six-member City Council that consists of a mayor and five councilmen. Members of the City Council are supposed to serve three-year terms.

In 2019, three people — Armando Cavazos, Blas Medrano and Javier Morales — ran for City Council.

Nobody ran against them.

Progreso held a swearing-in ceremony for Cavazos, Medrano and Morales on Nov. 8, 2019.

It’s unclear which places on the City Council they actually won.

Cavazos, Medrano and Morales didn’t list place numbers on their ballot applications. Minutes from the City Council meeting simply state that Progreso held a swearing-in ceremony for Place 1, Place 2 and Place 3.

Progreso canceled another election in 2020, when nobody challenged Mayor Gerardo “Jerry” Alanis, City Councilman Raul Martinez or City Councilman Ruben Abundiz.

Martinez and Abundiz apparently ran for Place 4 and Place 5, but the ballot applications they submitted didn’t list place numbers.

Progreso held a swearing-in ceremony for them on Nov. 20, 2020, according to meeting minutes released under the Texas Public Information Act.

In 2022, the city lost track of Progreso’s election cycle.

Progreso was supposed to hold an election for Place 1, Place 2 and Place 3 on the City Council. Instead, the city held another election for Place 4, Place 5 and mayor.

In interviews, City Manager Alfredo Espinosa and Assistant City Manager Francisco “Frank” Alanis said they made an honest mistake.

“It’s probably a mix-up or something like that,” Espinosa said. “Nothing nefarious.”

The mix-up created a major problem for Progreso.

Three members of the City Council — Cavazos, Medrano and Morales — never ran for re-election.

Mayor Alanis, Martinez and Abundiz, meanwhile, had run for re-election twice in a three-year period.

All six remained on the City Council after their terms expired.

Place Becomes a Problem

The botched 2022 election wasn’t Progreso’s only problem.

Blas Medrano stopped attending City Council meetings in February 2019 and didn’t show up for his swearing-in ceremony that November, according to minutes Progreso released under the Public Information Act. Rather than replace him, Progreso started operating with a five-member City Council.

Progreso lost another councilman in December 2023, when Armando Cavazos died. Mayor Gerardo “Jerry” Alanis resigned four months later after being arrested on federal drug charges.

Progreso suddenly had three vacant positions on the six-member City Council.

After delaying for months, Progreso finally addressed the situation.

The City Council appointed Raul Flores to replace Armando Cavazos. Flores was appointed to Place 1.

It’s unclear how Progreso decided Cavazos held Place 1. While he ran for Place 1 in 2011, the ballot application Cavazos submitted in 2019 didn’t list a place.

Place numbers also became a problem when Progreso called a special election to replace Medrano.

On April 10, the City Council met to discuss “Calling of Special Election for Mayor and City Council Place #3.”

The City Council agreed to hold the special election but didn’t pick a date.

On April 30, when the City Council approved the date, administrators prepared an election order that listed the position as “Vacant Councilman” without listing a place number.

Progreso later changed the position to Place 2. Medrano held Place 2 in 2014, but his 2019 ballot application didn’t list a place.

Espinosa, the city manager, said he didn’t know how Progreso decided Place 2, not Place 3, should appear on the ballot or who made the decision.

"I don't remember how that happened,” Espinosa said.

As a result, it’s unclear if Progreso properly filled the vacant positions.

Attorneys Offer Advice

Attorney Ric Gonzalez of Edinburg, who specializes in representing local governments, called the situation in Progreso “crazy.”

“Somebody didn’t know how to count, obviously,” Gonzalez said.

Progreso may want to ask the District Attorney’s Office to file a quo warranto action, Gonzalez said.

“A quo warranto is Latin for ‘by what authority’ or ‘by what warrant’ do you hold office,” said attorney C. Robert Heath of Austin, an expert on election law.

In a quo warranto action, the city would be required to explain by what authority each official held elected office. A judge would determine whether they had been properly elected and, if not, could remove them from office.

Only a county attorney, a district attorney or the Attorney General’s Office may bring a quo warranto action.

“And those are the only people that can bring it,” Heath said. “Because it is brought in the name of the state, so that any opinion or resolution of it binds the entire community.”

The Texas Secretary of State’s Office may also be able to provide Progreso with advice.

“If I were they, I would call the Secretary of State,” Heath said, before asking the District Attorney to file a quo warranto action.

No Solution in Sight

The City Council held a special meeting on Monday to discuss the situation. During the meeting, the mayor presented the City Council with a three-page memo.

“This explains all the facts,” Mayor Gamboa said, based on his research and information he received from the city.

In the memo, Mayor Gamboa argued the election cycle for mayor and City Council had been incorrect for more than a decade.

“After reviewing the previous Councilman/Mayor elections,” Mayor Gamboa wrote, “we have concluded Progreso elections have not been properly conducted.”

Mayor Gamboa said Place 1, which is held by Councilman Raul Flores; Place 3, which is held by Councilman Javier Morales; and Place 5, which is held by Councilman Raul Martinez, should appear on the ballot.

Councilman Martinez said he agreed that Place 1, Place 3 and Place 5 must appear on the ballot, but he questioned why Place 2 would not.

Mayor Gamboa said Progreso just had a special election for Place 2 in June. Voters elected Councilwoman Sandra V. Estrada to fill the vacant seat.

“We need legal advice,” Councilman Martinez said. “We need — I don’t know, an attorney, a judge — someone that can decide what’s the right place and what’s the wrong place for the election.”

Progreso, though, had nobody to ask for legal advice on Monday.

City Attorney Javier Villalobos is also the mayor of McAllen, which had a meeting on Monday afternoon.

Without a lawyer in the room, the Progreso City Council started arguing about what Villalobos allegedly told them during private conversations.

Councilman Morales said he believed the best way for Progreso to fix the election problem was for all six City Council seats to appear on the November ballot. After that, they could draw straws to reset the election cycle.

“You have your argument. I have my argument,” Councilman Morales said. “But we have both sat down with Mr. Villalobos, and Mr. Villalobos has provided us his legal guidance on it.”

Mayor Gamboa said that, according to Villalobos, all six members of the City Council should not run.

“That’s not what he stated, sir,” Councilman Morales said. “I was there.”

“He stated that with me,” Mayor Gamboa said. “Then again, he told you one thing, he told me another thing.”

Councilman Morales said Progreso had options.

“There’s different things that we could do to fix this issue,” Councilman Morales said. “But you trying to dictate that 1, 3 and 5 should run, in my opinion, is not correct.”

After a heated discussion, the City Council split 3-3.

Mayor Gamboa, Councilwoman Estrada and Councilman Flores voted to hold an election for Place 1, Place 3 and Place 5. Councilman Martinez, Councilman Morales and Councilman Abundiz voted against the motion.

With the City Council divided, Mayor Gamboa said Progreso may contact the District Attorney’s Office or the Attorney General’s Office for assistance.

“We’ve got three council members trying not to have elections,” Gamboa said. “Which is very unconstitutional for the people.”