Tuesday’s city commission meeting in Elsa was cancelled for a lack of quorum, only one commissioner showed up.
Place 3 Commissioner Cain Caceres sat alone at the help of the council chambers on Tuesday.
Ironically, his name was on the agenda for possible removal.
"They want to put somebody else in my place because of my disability,” he said. “They’d be violating my civil rights."
The city commission pointed to the fact that Caceres missed three meetings this year.
But Caceres countered that his absences should have been excused.
"I’ve suffered a stroke, which has affected my vision, I haven’t been able to return to work," he said.
The stroke has also left him unable to drive, or even walk without assistance from a cane and someone to guide him for balance.
In addition, he now must wear a patch over his right eye.
Despite the item on the agenda, not everyone in the commission agreed with his possible removal from elected office.
"I’m not really in agreement with it because I think the people voted him in and people should vote him out," Elsa Mayor Al Perez said.
He was in attendance, but he arrived late because of work in Laredo.
Mayor Perez added that he is tired of the negative city politics.
"It’s going to take a unity of all of us to get the city in the right direction," he argued.
As a result of the lack of quorum, Caceres will keep his seat.
He says he wants to stay on the job, “I’ve done my civic duty and I want to see my civic duty to the end of my term.
At the last commission meeting on March 5, Caceres was the only commissioner that voted against moving the city's municipal elections from May to November.
Other commissioners argued it was to save the city money, but Caceres claimed it was for their personal gain, to extend their terms by several months.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Caceres hand delivered a letter explaining his absences, and saying he wants to remain on the job, to the mayor.
He also forwarded the letter to State Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade, Texas Inspector General Milton A. Mayo, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, and the Civil Rights Office of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
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