Hidalgo welcomes new mayor; Franz leaves quietly

HIDALGO ? Hidalgo wished longtime Mayor John David Franz a quiet goodbye Tuesday afternoon before welcoming newly elected Mayor Martin Cepeda with a standing-room-only crowd for his swearing-in ceremony.

Nearly 200 people packed into State Farm Arena?s VIP lounge and spilled into the hallway to watch Cepeda, Councilman Gus Sanchez, Councilman Rudy Franz and Councilman Dan Dillard II take the oath of office. In a short speech, Cepeda pledged to represent everyone, not just a select few, and urged Hidalgo to unite after a divisive election.

?The political campaigning has ended in our city politics and it is now time to get to work,? said Cepeda, 48, a county motor vehicle fraud investigator who spent 22 years on the Hidalgo school board before seeking the city?s top job. ?We need to show those people who cast positive votes for us, we need to show them what we promised them. We promised them work and we?re going to do it.?

Cepeda and members of the Concerned Citizens, who swept Saturday?s city election and now occupy all six council seats, officially took office Tuesday during the ceremony. They defeated a slate backed by Mayor Franz, who resigned in February but was held over until the election.

The election, Hidalgo?s first since 2002, drew a record 2,730 people to the polls. The Concerned Citizens won every contest, avoiding a runoff despite a four-way mayoral race and eight candidates vying for three council seats.

?As we all know, we had a closely followed, hotly contested election which brought out the best in all of our community,? said Councilman Guillermo Ramirez, acknowledging the nearly 49 percent turnout. ?At the end of the day, we couldn?t have asked for a better outcome.?

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QUIET GOODBYE

Minutes before the ceremony, Mayor John David Franz and the council?s two outgoing members ? Councilwoman Siglinde Franz, the mayor?s mother; and Mayor Pro Tem Alvin Samano ? held one last meeting across town at the Border Security and Technology Training Center.

They had two pressing tasks: certify the election results and update bank records, allowing Cepeda to sign official checks. Both items were quickly approved. Then came public comment.

?I just wanted to say sometimes all we hear about is the negative stuff,? said Paul Sakai, a longtime resident. ?I?m one of the silent majority. Most of us appreciate you.?

Sakai thanked Mayor Franz and his mother for the more than 20 years they spent on the City Council, guiding Hidalgo?s steady growth. He compared Mayor Franz?s tenure to that of Othal Brand Sr., the longtime McAllen mayor.

?What he did in McAllen, you have done in Hidalgo,? Sakai said. ?I hope, one day, you can make a comeback here.?

Mayor Franz said he owed any success to the City Council and city employees, including many who have been with Hidalgo since shortly after he took office in 1990.

?It?s a testament to what an organization can do when everybody is pulling in the same direction,? Mayor Franz said. ?I was very blessed to have unity for about 21 of those 22 years.?

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Dave Hendricks covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at dhendricks@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4452.

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