Hidalgo County elections head resigns; more indictments filed

EDINBURG -Hidalgo County Elections Administrator Teresa Navarro resigned Tuesday just hours before a grand jury returned more felony indictments against her.

The latest indictments charge her with abuse of official capacity and tampering with government records, according to Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra.

Indictments were also returned Tuesday against former elections department operations director Rene Solis, 42, of Weslaco.

Navarro, 48, of Mission, and Solis were initially indicted on five felony counts June 3, along with low-level employees Amado Cavazos Jr., 27, of Edinburg, and Patricia Zapata, 35, of McAllen. Together, the four are accused of defrauding the county of $15,000 to $20,000 over the past two years.

All four turned themselves in the next day, were booked into the Hidalgo County Jail and released on personal recognizance bonds. Navarro's three co-defendants had left the elections department well before the indictments. Only Cavazos had remained a county employee, after transferring to the county clerk's office months ago.

Navarro and Solis are expected to have their initial appearance in court on the new indictments by the end of June. Court documents detailing the new charges are expected today.

Navarro resigned Tuesday afternoon at the same time the county's governing body was discussing her termination.

The Hidalgo County Commissioners Court received a phone call from Navarro at 12:20 p.m. - almost an hour and a half after the court went behind closed doors to decide whether to fire her in light of the multiple felony charges she faces.

They publicly announced her resignation just moments after receiving her phone call.

Navarro officially left her position at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

She declined to meet with The Monitor at her office and did not return several calls seeking comment.

Her attorney Terry Palacios declined to comment on why she decided to resign.

No one at the elections department would comment on when they learned of her resignation. Navarro was appointed to the position in 2000 by the Hidalgo County Election Commission, a body that oversees the fairness of elections but not the day-to-day operations of the department.

Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas said he was surprised she resigned and that he did not know how the commissioners would have voted if Navarro hadn't stepped down. He would not say if the court was divided in private discussions over her termination.

The election commission is now scheduled to meet June 30 to decide what to do with her position.

Valde Guerra, the head of the county's budget and management office, will oversee the department in the interim.

The five-member election commission is empowered to appoint someone to fill the vacancy, according to state law. But the law also allows the Commissioners Court to dissolve the position and revert to handling the elections department through the county clerk and tax assessor-collector.

The election commission unanimously voted April 22 to terminate Navarro based on a county audit report that prompted a criminal investigation into the elections department. That investigation was still ongoing at the time.

County commissioners in April declined to vote on her dismissal for fear she could sue if no criminal charges were filed against her.

State law stipulates an elections administrator can only be removed on at least a four-fifths recommendation of the election commission and a majority vote by the Commissioners Court.