Cannone resigns as Weslaco City Manager

WESLACO — City Manager Richard Cannone offered his resignation to city commissioners Monday afternoon, less than a month after he took the position, city officials confirmed Tuesday morning.

Cannone, who formerly worked in city government in Hallandale, Fla., started as city manager on Dec. 28 after city commissioners agreed to set his annual salary at $151,533.

Cannone did not return a phone call seeking comment Monday afternoon, but in his official letter of resignation dated Jan. 18, Cannone did not provide specific reasons for his resignation.

“As you know I came to the city of Weslaco from Miami, Fla. with the best intentions for this community, however I have come to the realization that this position is not the right fit for both personal and professional reasons,” he wrote.

Cannone went on to inform commissioners in his letter that he would be returning to his former position as director of development services, economic development and community redevelopment agency departments in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

City officials were stunned by the decision, Mayor Buddy De La Rosa said earlier this week.

“He called me at bout 2:30 in the afternoon (Monday) to say he had to talk to me,” he said. “I got there and he said, ‘Mayor I have real bad news, I’m resigning.’ I said, ‘You’re kidding me.’”

De La Rosa said Cannone’s reasons for leaving were personal, not political.

“I told him I needed to know if there was anything political that bothered him. I needed to know if anyone threatened him,” he said. “He said no and that they were taking him back at his old job. He said that he had been looking to go back.”

Despite Cannone’s short tenure as city manager, De La Rosa was adamant that the rapid turnover in the city manager’s office is not a negative reflection on the community or a sign of division in city government.

“I was shocked, but his leaving was a personal one and does not reflect the work environment,” he said. “The citizens need to understand that it doesn’t reflect on the city.”

Cannone’s resignation left city officials scrambling to fill arguably the most important position in municipal government. Commissioners met Tuesday evening to review the list of candidates that originally applied for the position following former city manager Anthony Covacevich’s resignation in May 2009. They ultimately issued a unanimous vote to name Leonardo Olivares as interim city manager. Olivares, who last served as city manager of Rio Grande City from 2000 through 2006, would start Monday morning, De La Rosa said.

Although the position has been filled temporarily, questions remain as to how the commission will select the next city manager. De La Rosa was admittedly skeptical regarding the utilization of a citizen’s committee to review candidates for the post - a process that was used in the selection of Cannone.

“I think it may impact the process we use to seek out the city manager,” De La Rosa said of Cannone’s quick resignation. “We used an unconventional process. Usually it’s the mayor and the city commissioners that screen and hire the city manager. This time we went to an external committee I don’t want to be critical of the committee, but we should revert back to tradition and do the search ourselves.”