Sunland Park Names New City Manager With Controversial Past
Controversy at Sunland Park’s city council meeting Friday afternoon as some residents opposed the decision to re-hire Jaime Aguilera as the city manager. Aguilera had stepped down from the position last September after serving as city manager for a year.
“The city of Sunland Park will suffer again if you have the guts to hire him,” said Taylor Moore, a Sunland Park resident that spoke out during the meeting.
Moore said Aguilera “destroyed everything he touched” and described him as a “confessed criminal.” Aguilera denied criminal wrongdoing in a phone interview with ABC-7. However, Aguilera admitted to serving 3 years probation in connection to an incident that happened while he was a community development director in a California city. Aguilera pleaded “no contest” in 2002 for facilitation of a bribe.
“We considered the controversy portion,” said council member Angelica Marquez when asked why council chose to re-hire Aguilera. “It was not a felony and in the application it says if you’re not convicted of a felony, we can take you into consideration (for a position).” Mayor pro-tempore Daniel Salinas added they decided on Aguilera because of his experience.
Three council members showed in person to approve Aguilera’s reinstatement. A fourth member, Christian Lira, voted over the phone. Lira has a controversial past himself. He currently faces charges of false imprisonment, bribery of a witness and battery against a household member.
Council member Carmen Rodriguez was not at the meeting but issued a statement about her disapproval of Aguilera’s hiring.
Another no-show was Mayor Martin Resendiz. Council members said they have not heard from Resendiz for a few days. The mayor is getting heat for a statement he made in a deposition involving a $1 million lawsuit against the city of Sunland Park. Resendiz allegedly claimed he was drunk when he signed a series of contracts with a California company. The company is suing the city, demanding Sunland Park pay for those contracts.
