Mayor Margo calls special meeting that could oust potential opponent Hernandez from her council seat
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo on Thursday called a special meeting of City Council to discuss what he says is the “vacancy” of District 3 Rep. Cassandra Hernandez’s seat amid confusion over whether she has resigned.
The agenda for Monday’s special meeting lists only one item put forward by Margo: a discussion of the vacancy and whether to call for a special election to fill the seat.
Officially, a city spokeswoman said Thursday that Hernandez had not submitted a letter of resignation. However, it’s a Facebook post that appeared to launch her mayoral campaign which has triggered the questions.
That post made the rounds on social media earlier this week, but on Thursday the page was not active.
Hernandez told ABC-7 that while she had considered running for mayor, she did not make an official announcement herself. Margo has already said he is running for re-election as mayor.
The Texas Constitution indicates certain public officials can trigger an automatic resignation if they announce they are running for another office. But it’s unclear whether this provision applies to municipalities and exactly what action constitutes an announcement.
The mayor’s chief of staff told ABC-7 it was Margo’s view that the Facebook post triggered the “resign to run” provision. He also indicated that Margo would not be attending the special meeting.
