City: Romero has not turned in resignation

New information:

According to City Rep. Michiel Noe, Mayor Oscar Leeser has confirmed that Larry Romero has verbally resigned due to health issues caused by the stroke he had in December.

According to City Rep. Carl Robinson, the stroke impaired Romero’s ability on his right side, and it was just recently that Romero regained the ability to walk.

Robinson adds that Romero can walk and talk, however he is “not back to normal.”

Once Romero submits his resignation in writing City Council will have eight days to approve or deny his request.

Ethic’s Commission Stuart Schwarts says that if the resignation is approved the ethics investigation will no longer continue, since Romero will no longer be in office.

Until a replacement is elected Romero can sit in on council meetings.

Original article: The City of El Paso has not confirmed the resignation of City Rep. Larry Romero.

“Have not heard anything,” the City’s Marketing and Public Affairs Manager Juli Lozano wrote in an email Thursday evening.

The El Paso Times Thursday afternoon reported Romero had resigned, citing health reasons according to Mayor Oscar Leeser. Leeser has not responded to ABC-7’s request for confirmation. Romero suffered a stroke three days before Christmas in December and has been out of city hall since. Romero did not return phone calls Thursday seeking comment.

“I visited with Rep. Romero today at noon at his tax office. He is going to therapy three days a week and trying to recover. He did not indicate to me or tell me anything about resigning,” said City Rep. Carl Robinson Thursday evening.

The City Clerk’s office said it did not receive a resignation letter or verbal notice from Romero.

City Representatives Claudia Ordaz, Michiel Noe and Emma Acosta all said they heard rumblings about a possibly resignation but had not been notified.

Acosta said she had heard, but not confirmed, Romero had turned in a resignation letter to Lozano. Lozano denied it. “No I have not seen him,” Lozano wrote when specifically asked about a resignation letter.

“I hear the Mayor spoke with him and Rep. Romero said he may want to resign but no one has told us anything about it,” said Noe.

City Representatives Cortney Niland and Peter Svarzbein did not respond to phone calls asking if they knew about the reported resignation.

“I have not seen a written communication stating Rep. Romero has resigned,” wrote City Rep. Lily Limon in an email Thursday evening.

Romero has been scrutinized since last Summer when changes to the City’s Street Capital Improvement list were made without council approval and streets in his district were added and paved before streets that a study showed more badly needed repaving.

The City last December also hired ethics attorney Ross Fischer to investigate if Romero and City Manager Tommy Gonzalez acted appropriately in the search for a new financial adviser. Gonzalez authorized the search for a new firm at the public suggestion of Romero but without a vote from the City Council. Romero at the time did not disclose that he had before worked with the owner of one of the companies competing for the job.

Romero has denied wrongdoing, saying in hindsight he should have notified the City he had before worked with Noe Hinojosa, the owner of Estrada Hinojosa, but did not think it was relevant.

Fishcer is also advising the City’s ethics commission who is reviewing a complaint against Romero and Gonzalez for the same issues. This week, the commission released dozens of pointed questions Fischer sent to Gonzalez and Romero asking about the financial adviser process. Fischer wants to know if Romero and Gonzalez received any gifts or benefits from Hinojosa and what kind of communication they had about the search, among other things.