RATHER THAN BE PUSHED OUT, "IMMUNITY DAVID" GARCIA RESIGNS

By Juan Montoya

Before the Cameron County Commissioners Court even had a chance to deliberate and take action on the agenda item posted above, County Administrator David Garcia  - raking in a $200,000-plus salary - has resigned.

Courthouse sources say Garcia handed in his resignation today in executive session. There was no reason given for his resignation, although the harried administrator probably knew the end was coming as he polled the commissioners before the meeting.

As we posted yesterday on this blog, there were storm clouds in the horizon for Garcia. Today, the chickens came home to roost.

The same sources say that standing in the wings are his possible replacements said to be two former Gilberto Hinojosa administration colleagues Remi Garza and Jared Hockema.

Once the favorite of individual commissioners (Pct. 3 David Garza, for example), Garcia seems to have rubbed somebody the wrong way recently. Inside sources suggest that it may have been Pct. 4 commissioner Gus Ruiz who called for the item to be placed on the agenda.

Garza, meanwhile, did not attend the meeting and did not participate in the executive session discussion.

Garcia had earned the moniker of "Immunity David" because of his cooperation with the Cameron County District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit (PIU) chief George Delaunay in the prosecution of former Pct. 2 commissioner Ernie Hernandez in the fiasco involving the hiring of his brother-in-law with the county's International Bridge System.

Part of Garcia's job duties was the supervision of the bridge system. Hernandez cut a deal with the DA's Office and resigned his position and  got deferred adjudication. Garcia stayed on as assistant county administrator.

Delaunay also granted Garcia immunity for his cooperation with the PIU in the prosecution of his former boss Pete Sepulveda, who was both county administrator and CEO of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority.

Sepulveda copped a plea with the DA over the use of county materials on a non-dedicated road along the river near Los Indios as a favor to former Pct. 4 commissioner Dan Sanchez to belp in his run for county judge.

As a result of Sepulveda's prosecution, Garcia inherited his former boss's position and his $200,000-plus salary when Sepulveda left.

Just recently, the scuttlebutt was that he was going to cooperate (if not already cooperating) with Delaunay's PIU on the investigation on the "transfer" of palm trees that were on the property the Bence Trust after it donated the land for the construction of a new Pct. 4 county barn. The Bences had a tree nursery on the property. The palm trees were apparently donated to the City of La Feria without commissioners court approval.

In accepting the Bence land, the county had to pay for the extension of water and sewer lines to the new Pct. 4 county barn, and the Bences, who had land between the property for the new county barn and the water lines by the expressway, benefited from the donation with the infrastructure to develop it.

Did Ruiz simply get the jump on "Immunity David" before he spilled his guts to the PIU? Pct. 5 constable Eddie Solis is said to be helping Delaunay ferret out facts in the palm-tree caper. Solis, after all, is Delaunay's half brother and it's no secret there is bad blood between him the Ruiz.

It was Ruiz, after all, who made the motion to accept Garcia's resignation before the agenda item was considered, since accepting the administrator's resignation would make it moot. Garcia had met with the commissioners in executive session asked whether they would accept his resignation before voting on the agenda item. He was told he could and when the item came up, did not want to make a statement in open court.

The motion was seconded by Pct. 2 commissioner Joey Lopez and passed unanimously 4-0 with Judge Eddie Trevino and Pct. 1 commissioner voting to end Garcia's tenure at the county.