Let's recap! Gene Espinoza sits on the Edinburg city council. He is also a sales rep. for Rio Grande Steel. Which means! The more steel he sells. The bigger the commission checks.
We here at E-News feel that Gene Espinoza should at least abstain from voting. The contracts are going to Enrique Enterprises. And then the sub contracts go to Rio Grande Steel.
We have asked for an opinion from the Tx. attorney generals office. And here it is. We also have some court rulings on other cases referring to a conflict of interest.
It is a conflict of interest if:
the person owns 10 percent or more of the voting stock or shares of the business entity or owns either 10 percent or more or $15,000 or more of the fair market value of the business entity;
or
funds received by the person from the business entity exceed 10 percent of the person's gross income for the previous year. (33)
The first one would be use by former city attorney Daniel Rios. But as you can see. As for the second one. Gene is in a clear violation of the conflict of interest rule.
Here are some of the AG opinions and other case rulings in reference to a conflict of interest.
The court in Meyers v. Walker
(8) stated why public officers may not have a financial interest in contracts they enter into on behalf of a governmental body:
If a public official directly or indirectly has a pecuniary interest in a contract, no matter how honest he may be, and although he may not be influenced by the interest, such a contract so made is violative of the spirit and letter of our law, and is against public policy. (9)
A contract made in violation of this policy is illegal and void, (10) because of the possibility that the public officer's personal interests would be adverse to the faithful discharge of public duty.
(11) The fact that the officer acted "with sincerest purpose and no intention of wrong" (12) and that he or she exercised no influence does not keep the contract from violating conflict of interest laws. (13)
Another court ruling!
A public official's indirect interest is sufficient to invalidate a public contract. In Bexar County v. Wentworth,
(14) Bexar County's purchase of voting machines was invalid because the Bexar County commissioner who cast the deciding vote to let the contract held an exclusive sales contract with the company that supplied the voting machines.
(15) The commissioner was entitled to compensation for every voting machine he sold in Texas, except in Bexar County. Nonetheless, the court found that he still could have an indirect interest in the contract with Bexar County because the sale of voting machines there could promote the sales elsewhere.
(16) Similarly, an attorney general opinion concluded that a school district could not contract with a company that employed a member of the district's board of trustees.
(17) Even though the trustee derived no direct financial benefit from the contract, he still had an interest in the success of his employer. (18)
And here is the local govt code:
Chapter 171 of the Local Government Code
(27) prohibits a local public official from participating in a vote on a matter involving a business entity or real property in which the official has a substantial interest if it is reasonably foreseeable that an action on the matter would confer an economic benefit on the business entity or real property.
(28) This enactment preempts common-law conflicts of interest rules as applied to local public officials and is cumulative of municipal charter provisions and ordinances defining and prohibiting conflicts of interest.
29) A violation of chapter 171 does not render an action of the governing body voidable unless the measure would not have been approved without the vote of the person who violated its provisions,
(30) but the person who knowingly violates its requirements commits an offense punishable as a Class A misdemeanor. (31)
Some advice for Gene Espinoza! Get one of the Palacios to be your attorney. Ok, now that we have shown that Gene is in violation. Now what? :) I will leave that for a later date. As we say here at E-News
Stay tune! Same bat time! Same bat channel!
