WHISTLEBLOWER LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST COUNTY, RIVERA

By Juan Montoya
On the eve of the start of early voting Monday, the former Cameron County Clerk Chief Deputy Letty Perez has filed a Whistleblower Act lawsuit against Cameron County naming her former boss – and current Democratic candidate for county Judge Joe Rivera – and alleging, among other things, that he retaliated against her for not supporting one of his political candidates and awarding "improper and illegal contracts."
Rivera claims that the suit is politically motivated and that although he hasn't been served with it, the fact that Perez never showed up for a grievance hearing and did not exhaust the remedies available to her with the county might cause the lawsuit to be thrown out.
"She filed a grievance and never showed up when we had it," he said. "Then she files the lawsuit three days before the start of early voting which makes it doubly suspicions that it is politically motivated."
Perez alleges that Rivera subjected her to "verbal harassment and humiliation...in front of county employees and others running for political office" after she said she reported these alleged "violations to investigators at the FBI, an appropriate law enforcement authority..."
In the lawsuit styled 2104-DCL-07082, Leticia Perez v. Cameron County Clerk's Office filed Friday in the 103rd District Court, Perez, who had been Rivera's right-hand-employee for the past 30 years, she claims that she worked without incident "until she was asked to support a particular candidate for County Clerk, Sylvia Garza Perez" by Rivera and that he started a "campaign of retaliation" against her after she told him that "she would not be supporting her Garza-Perez, Rivera's choice as his successor" that resulted in her wrongful termination.
She claims in her lawsuit that Rivera's retaliation "was also due to (her) obtaining knowledge of (him) utilizing his post as County Clerk to award illegal contracts and attempting to contact the proper law enforcement authorities concerning as such."
The filing of the lawsuit on the Friday preceding the start of early voting Monday for the general election immediately brought howls of protest by Rivera's supporters who charged that the lawsuit was politically motivated to influence the county judge's race.
Rivera was a surprise candidate for county judge and had told his supporters that he was going to run for reelection to the position that he had held for 36 years. Even more surprising was Garza-Perez's announcement that she would be running for county clerk after she had first announced that she would run for county judge herself.
It was assumed around county circles that Letty Perez would be Rivera's successor prior to the announcement that Garza-Perez had switched positions.
Justice of the Peace Benny Ochoa said he had wanted to run for County Clerk and asked Rivera if he was running again. When Rivera told him he was, Ochoa decided against throwing his hat in the ring. However, Ochoa said that just because Rivera did the opposite, that was no reason for Letty Perez to have filed the lawsuit and the allegations contained therein.
"Just because Joe did that that doesn't mean I am going to go against him like that," Ochoa said.
Garza-Perez easily beat back her opponents in the 2014 Democratic primary. She then beat Arnold Flores in the primary runoff 5,477 to 4,963. She does not face a Republican challenger in the general election.
The charges made by Perez – if proven – could potentially result in indictments in federal court. Although Perez does not specify which contracts Rivera allegedly made which were "illegal and improper," the faact that they have been filed in the court of public opinion might have the potential to sway some voters now on the fence.
Observers say that her filing the lawsuit without going through the grievance process could potentially derail her claims, but also disrupt any investigation that the FBI might be undertaking based on her allegations to them.

The Whistleblower Act (554.006) specifically states that an employee must "initiate action under the grievance or appeal procedures of the employing state or local governmental entity relating to suspension or termination of employment or adverse personnel action before suing under this chapter."
Additionally, the employee must "invoke the applicable grievance or appeal procedures not later than the 90th day after the date on which the alleged violation of this chapter."
It is unknown whether Perez filed a grievance with the county before she initiated the lawsuit under the Act. If she didn't, some legal observers say that her lawsuit may be thrown out.
However, the political fallout of a lawsuit by a trusted 30-year employee on the eve of the early voting in the county clerk elections does not bode well for Rivera.
Close associates of County Judge Cascos deny that they had anything to do with the timing of Perez's lawsuit, and that it had been brewing for months before the filing on Friday.
Her attorneys – Javier Peña, Uri Heller and Chad Fulda of Heller and Fulda – are based in Edinburg, Texas.
She is suing for injunctive relief, actual and compensatory damages , court costs, attorneys fees, reinstatement with fringe benefits and seniority rights lost because of her termination and lost wages.
The Act also calls for the Texas Attorney General to provide to the state auditor's office a brief memorandum describing the facts and disposition of the lawsuit.
It also calls for the auditor to investigate the state governmental entity (Cameron County) to determine any changes necessary to correct the problems which gave rise to the whistleblower suit.