A tiny city covering less than a square mile tucked inside San Antonio has become the center of an increasingly bizarre political feud that has spilled from City Hall into federal court.
Balcones Heights Mayor Johnny Rodriguez Jr. filed suit against the city in April, alleging council members and city officials illegally stripped him of powers granted to the office of mayor after he began raising concerns about city operations and questioning the handling of missing police department equipment.
According to court filings, Rodriguez contends the council used a workplace investigation as a pretext to restrict his access to City Hall, cut off direct communication with employees and sideline him from city government in retaliation for his efforts.
City officials dispute that characterization. In an April statement, the city said 14 current and former employees filed complaints regarding Rodriguez’s workplace conduct, including four recent allegations describing a hostile work environment. The City Council has maintained that restrictions placed on the mayor were temporary measures intended to protect employees and preserve the integrity of an independent investigation, not a finding of wrongdoing.
The conflict traces back to February.
According to Rodriguez’s complaint, City Administrator Maria Hernandez approached him in February with concerns about Police Chief Roger Cavazos, including missing police department equipment and other operational issues. Rodriguez alleges Hernandez asked him to help hold Cavazos accountable after she was unable to resolve the concerns herself.
Rodriguez said he confronted Cavazos about four missing electronic ticket-writing devices and later issued a written directive seeking an investigation into their disappearance. Within days, according to court filings, complaints against the mayor surfaced and the relationship between Rodriguez and city leadership quickly deteriorated.
On March 9, the City Council held a special meeting that ultimately resulted in the adoption of an ordinance which restricted the mayor’s ability to communicate directly with city employees, consultants and the city attorney without council approval. The ordinance also routed communications through Mayor Pro Tem Jack Burton, the place 1 council member who was selected by the council to serve in the mayor’s absence, and limited Rodriguez’s access to City Hall.
Rodriguez argues the council lacked legal authority to impose those restrictions and that the measures effectively prevented him from carrying out duties assigned to the Office of Mayor under Texas law.
The dispute escalated further three days later.
In court filings, Rodriguez alleges he was ordered to leave a meeting with Wonderland of the Americas developers at City Hall and was threatened with arrest if he refused. He further alleges police officers locked portions of the building while he remained inside. The incident later became one of the central allegations in his federal lawsuit.
City Council doubled down on the restrictions during a March 23 meeting, adopting a second ordinance intended to ratify the earlier action while authorizing an outside investigation into complaints against the mayor.
Rodriguez filed suit in federal court on April 8, naming the city and several officials as defendants. The lawsuit alleges violations of his constitutional rights and seeks to invalidate the ordinances restricting his authority.
The case quickly landed before a federal magistrate judge after Rodriguez requested a preliminary injunction that would immediately restore his access and authority while the lawsuit proceeded.
Last month, U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Chestney recommended denying that request, concluding Rodriguez had not demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits at this stage of the litigation. The recommendation is not a final ruling, and Rodriguez has since filed objections asking the district judge assigned to the case to reject it.
The dispute has continued to evolve since the lawsuit was filed.
In a first amended complaint filed May 28, Rodriguez expanded the lawsuit to include allegations that city officials continued restricting his authority after the original filing. The amended complaint alleges city officials improperly routed communications through intermediaries, delayed agenda items he sought to place before the council, failed to notify him of official meetings and emergencies, attempted to remove him from office during an April council meeting and improperly conducted the investigation used to justify the restrictions.
Several defendants named in the original lawsuit, including Cavazos, are no longer parties to the case. However, claims against the city and several elected and appointed officials remain pending.
The legal battle has continued even as Rodriguez won reelection May 2 without opposition, securing another two-year term.
A special City Council meeting scheduled for May 18 included agenda items related to the personnel investigation, possible corrective action and a discussion on waiving attorney-client privilege connected to the investigation report.
The meeting was ultimately canceled after the council failed to reach a quorum.
In an email to the San Antonio Report, city officials said Mayor Pro Tem Burton was hospitalized and Councilmember Jimmy Hernandez was unable to attend, leaving the council without enough members present to conduct business.
The next regular City Council meeting is scheduled for June 22, while the federal case is expected to move forward with an initial pretrial conference in early July.
Meanwhile, the latest filing alleges ongoing retaliation as the conflict continues to unfold.
In a statement, Rodriguez’s attorney Brandon Grable said the city sent Rodriguez a cease-and-desist letter on June 3, identifying 34 emails the mayor sent to city staff over the past month and demanding that he stop sending similar communications.
According to Grable, the emails involved requests for records related to outside legal counsel, questions regarding Economic Development Corporation meetings, code compliance matters and pedestrian safety concerns.
“This is the same retaliation pattern alleged in our pending federal civil rights case,” Grable said in the statement.
Grable argued the ordinance restricting Rodriguez’s communications with city staff remains unlawful and said the mayor intends to continue carrying out what he views as his statutory duties while the litigation proceeds.
“The council majority would like nothing better than to find a way to remove the mayor — even if symbolically and unlawfully,” Grable said. “Unfortunately, for the council majority, the mayor will continue to perform his statutory duties under Texas law.”
Source:
San Antonio Report
