The past month has seen a tumultuous series of events at Brownsville City Hall since an audio recording of Brownsville City Commissioner Cesar De Leon containing racist and derogatory comments towards his community, the district attorney’s office, and other commissioners was leaked to the public.

This week, city hall has been filled with protestors and phone calls demanding De Leon’s resignation. Sunday’s edition of The Brownsville Herald published a petition for his resignation garnering over 300 signatures, which sparked the series of events this week.

Tuesday morning, Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. and Cameron County Commissioners passed a resolution, targeting De Leon, condemning racist and derogatory comments from any politician.

However, that Tuesday evening, Commissioner De Leon pitched a pathetic apology to the courtroom and refused to resign, stating, “I will not stop honoring my commitment to the people of Brownsville, nor will I back down in my fight for our great community.”

Ironically, Thursday evening he quickly changed his mind. His reason for resignation? Conflict of interest. “I don’t want to jeopardize my profession, so I decided to step down because I have to decide between the city or being an attorney,” De Leon stated.

Effective immediately, De Leon has resigned from his position as Brownsville City Commissioner, At-Large “A”.

Seems like he broke his promise to serving the people of Brownsville.

Miriam Cepeda

Miriam Cepeda is the Rio Grande Valley Bureau Chief for Texas Scorecard. A second-generation Mexican American, she is both fluent in English and Spanish and has been influential in grassroots organizing and conservative engagement within Hispanic communities. If you don’t find her “Trumping”, you can find her saving animals, running her dog, hiking the Andes, or volunteering with the U.S. National Park Service.