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City of Elsa, Texas v. Gonzalez

In this wrongful-termination suit, appellant did not report his concerns about a Texas Open Meetings Act violation to an appropriate law enforcement authority. He did not provide evidence that he had a good-faith belief the city council was an appropriate law enforcement authority. Nor did he report a violation of law when he delivered the city attorney's letter to the four entities. Lastly, he did not satisfy the jurisdictional requirements of the Whistleblower Act as a matter of law. Therefore, the trial court lacked jurisdiction over his claim. The court of appeals' judgment is reversed. Texas Supreme Court, No. 09-0834, 10-06-2010

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Joel Homer Gonzalez sued the City of Elsa, alleging he was unlawfully terminated from his position as city manager in violation of the Texas Whistleblower Act. See TEX. GOV’T CODE § 554.002. The trial court denied the City’s plea to the jurisdiction and the court of appeals affirmed. The court of appeals determined that Gonzalez in good faith reported violations of law by both the mayor and the city council to appropriate law enforcement authorities sufficient to come within the Whistleblower Act’s waiver of governmental immunity. We disagree. We reverse the court of appeals’ judgment and dismiss the cause for lack of jurisdiction.

In early 2003, Gonzalez was Elsa’s city manager and Tony Barco was its mayor. After Barco was appointed assistant director of the Hidalgo County Urban County Program (HCUCP), the city attorney issued an opinion letter addressing conflicts of interest that might exist if Barco served in the positions concurrently. In the opinion letter the city attorney stated that under the common-law doctrine of incompatibility and under the Texas Constitution, Barco ipso facto resigned from and relinquished his position as mayor upon assuming the HCUCP position and that Barco’s ipso facto resignation mooted any potential conflicts of interest. Based on the city attorney’s letter, the city council voted to accept Barco’s implied resignation as mayor.

Following the city council meeting, Gonzalez was directed by one of the council members to notify various county authorities and the public of the results of the meeting. Pursuant to those instructions, Gonzalez delivered a copy of the city attorney’s letter to the Hidalgo County judge, the director of the HCUCP, the Hidalgo County district attorney, and a local newspaper. He informed each entity that the city council had accepted the mayor’s resignation.

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