Commissioners should return Villalobos to judge’s chief of staff

Dear Editor,

I read your article on Friday “County Repositions Cheif of Staff Amid Accusations of Conflict” with great disappointment, and I wonder why Commissioner Lon Shell would ocntinue to falsely accuse Mr. Alex Villalobos, chief of staf to Judge Ruben Beceera, of a conflict of interest when your article makes very clear that ethics rulings proactively sought out by Alex Villalobos cleared his good name. This sort of dishonesty is unbefitting of a County Commisioner. Although Mr. Villalobos was stripped from the Judge’s office by 3-2 vote Tuesday before last, along racial & part lines, the community adores him for his service to this community and know his integrity well.

Mr. Villalobos has served in law enforcement for 14 years; he helped pave the way for Latino Studies at Texas State University, while helming the Hispanic Policy Nework; he brought naturalization ceremonies to campus, successfully completed a Fellowship wit the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and currently is a Senior Fellow, enabling immigrants to celebrate their new citizenship with loved ones in a dignigied fashion; the list goes on. Notably, Mr. Villalobos was part of a rising push for reforms to our expensive and unjust penal system locally, efforts that grew so popular that Commissioner Shell had to revive a longdead committe that was supposed to address reforms over the past decade but fell utterly flat in its mission. To be clear, we are in a crisis with an over-capacity jail and excessive arresting for minor offenses precisely becauase of those tasked with reforms who instead sat on their heands. With respect and diligence, Mr. Villalobos helped articulate a pathway to prudent reforms, saving our county serious money and reducing needles incarceration.

The Daily Record article irresponsibly dwelled on false accusations of conflict of interest, when ethics experts have put those concerns to rest. These untrue allegations are simply the republican’s cloack to disguise their true intentions, which is regrettable. Commissioners need to act urgently to return Mr. Villalobos to his job as Chief of Staff in the Judge’s office — a position Commissioner Shell knows well because he was employed in that capacity from 2013-2016, garnering nearly a third of a million dollars in salary.

Sincerely,

Charlie Campise