Judge voids results of San Benito charter election
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Votes cast in San Benito’s charter election will not count, according to parties involved in a lawsuit filed against the city.
The decision was made Monday by a district court judge in Cameron County after San Benito city leaders proposed adding five amendments to their city charter on the Nov. 5 ballot.
The amendments on the ballot included city charter changes such as requiring all city commissioners to reside within city limits, and provide process and reasons for removal of municipal judges.
San Benito resident, and former EDC board member, Julian Rios filed a lawsuit s over the amendments. The lawsuit alleges the city violated the Texas Open Meetings Act when the proposed charter amendments were placed on the ballot.
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“It protected the voter’s rights, that is what this decision actually did,” Jeff Diamant, Rios’ attorney, told Channel 5 News when asked about the Monday ruling. “The voters are entitled to see transparency; they are entitled to know what they are voting on.”
It’s a claim San Benito’s city attorney denies.
“The city did what they had to do, they had to provide reasonable notice as to what was on the agenda and there was,” San Benito City Attorney Javier Villalobos said. “Should this pass, we will appeal if it doesn’t pass, it's a dead issue.”
Cameron County Elections Administrator Remi Garza told Channel 5 News his office has not been made aware of the court's decision as of Monday night.
Remi added that his office is awaiting instructions from the city regarding the elections.
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