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-Editorial
In what was described as another step in the healing process for the city, the Calexico City Council appointed Camilo Garcia as the new Mayor of Calexico during its May 15 meeting. Gloria Romo, who has been serving since January, made the motion to appoint Garcia, which was unanimously approved.
The audience present at the Calexico City Council Chambers erupted in cheers, and a standing ovation lasted for more than a minute, celebrating Garcia’s mayoralty, which many believed was long overdue. Romo was removed due to her alliance with Urena and Manzanarez, and also because many believed her performance as Mayor was deficient.
This has been a long journey for Garcia who was denied on two occasions the opportunity to be Mayor.
“This is part of bringing our community together and it starts with respecting each other. We need concrete plans that allows you to serve your community and volunteer,” Garcia said in his initial remarks. “We’ve been asking to be part of this community without the fear of being chastised or disrespected. Moving forward that’s going to be the tone. We will agree to disagree.”
Garcia was the Mayor Pro Tem in 2022 and was next in line to be Mayor, but an unlikely alliance between Raul Urena and Moreno orchestrated a move to skip his turn as Mayor. Moreno received a second year in the mayorship, and Urena got a position in the Imperial County Transportation Commission and became Mayor Pro Tem. This move triggered the political turmoil that ended with the recall of Urena and Manzanarez.
Moreno eventually broke away from the Urena, Manzanarez, and Romo voting block.
“A year ago I had a conversation with Mayor Garcia and I apologized. We bury the hatchet and I’m here to support him,” Moreno said.
Moreno proposed a change to the rotation schedule for the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem positions within the city council during the May 8 meeting. This proposal seeks to shift the rotation from its current schedule to the second regular meeting in May.
The City Council, operating under the purview of the Government Code, holds the authority to select the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, as outlined in state law. Previous decisions by the council have seen rotations occur in December and, more recently, in July, with the most recent adjustment made effective from March 1, 2023.
