Nogales chooses Barraza’s successor

NOGALES—Under threat of legal action by the city attorney, Octavio Garcia-Von Borstel, 28, was appointed as the 38th mayor of Nogales and point man for one of the most-divided councils in city history.

His grandfather may have been municipal president of Nogales, Sonora from 1970-73, but Garcia-Von Borstel was the one person on the Nogales City Council least interested in the mayoral seat left vacant by Ignacio J. Barraza who died 136 days ago.

Jockeying for the position hours after Barraza’s death Nov. 21, 2007, were Councilmen Nubar Hanessian, John Jackson and Arturo Garino.

An even power split among the six council members nixed the chances of any of them being successfully appointed to the position by their colleagues.

Garcia-Von Borstel was the least-seasoned politician on the council. However, he was able to broker a deal over the past several weeks with the help of former Mayor Marcelino Varona Jr.

“This is what the city has been asking,” Garcia-Von Borstel told a group of reporters following a regular session of the council on Wednesday night. “I feel very fortunate to have been given this opportunity and I look forward to working with all of the councilmen.”

He emphasized the word “all” and said his “priority is to unite the council and allow each one to vote their conscience and not be influenced by petty personal interests, but instead, by the overall interest of the community.”

Despite the objections of City Attorney Jan Smith-Florez, in one fell swoop, the council named Garcia-Von Borstel as mayor, filled his seat on the council with Ramon Felix, and re-hired Jaime Fontes as city manager.

Smith-Florez said that the request filed with the city clerk for the item to be placed on the agenda was signed by Garcia-Von Borstel, Jackson, and councilmen Jose Padilla and Armando Lopez. She alleged that the four had met, comprising a quorum, which is illegal under Arizona open-meeting laws. The proof was that a request to place the appointments on the agenda was signed by all four men.

Smith-Florez said she “self-reported the council” to the Arizona Attorney General’s office as well as the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s office. She said the AG’s office intended to launch an investigation and warned that if they proceeded with the vote successfully, she would “immediately seek a stay and file for a declaratory judgment in Superior Court” to nix the action.

Manuel C. Coppola is publisher and editor of the Nogales International.