The City of Alpine held its regularly scheduled city council meeting on Nov. 17, and new council members Chris Rodriguez in Ward 2 and Martin Sandate in Ward 4 were sworn in. The council also voted to terminate City Attorney Rod Ponton’s employment contract. Prior to voting on his termination, the council discussed Ponton’s job performance. Before the vote, Ponton addressed the issue of dismissal of municipal court cases, along with cases from the Alpine Police Department, brought to his office. Council, Ward 1, Maria Curry, then brought the motion to terminate Ponton’s contract as city attorney, effective immediately. Curry cited conflicts of interest and lack of trust by city employees, and indicated that Ponton wrote letters to the Texas Attorney General requesting a formal investigation into the Alpine Police Department for putting “the city at risk and liable for lawsuits.” The council then voted 4-1 to terminate Ponton, with only Sandate voting nay.
https://www.alpineavalanche.com/news/article_e66d9bc8-29c7-11eb-8709-f7592c7b82ec.html
