Special to El Rrun-Rrun
Less than a year after the City of Falfurrias in Brooks County named her city administrator, Melissa Landin (formerly Zamora) has left the position and her replacement is none other than former City of Brownsville and Brownsville Independent School District auditor Arvin Tucker.
![EL RRUN RRUN: ARVIN TUCKER, BISD LEAD AUDITOR PLACED ON LEAVE]()
The shakeup, according to Tucker, ame about when Landin notified him that she had a job offer somewhere in "West Texas," and that she had handed in her letter of resignation about two weeks ago.
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Tucker, who had been contacted by Landin to apply for the position of city finance director was hired and about three months later was made assistant city manager under her. When she handed in her resignation, the city aldermen board accepted it appointed him as interim city manager.
It is unknown where in West Texas Landin was offered a job, or if she accepted it to leave Falfurrias.
Landin was hired as a city administrator on July 2019 and got her Certificate in Public Management from UTRGV-Edinburg in December.
As city manager, her duties included supervising the city of Falfurrias departments, supporting maintenance of the city budget and representing the municipality vis-a-vis community groups and state and federal governments.
That might have been seen as a comedown from her previous positions as elected official (commissioner for the City of Brownsville), PIO for the Cameron County District Attorney's Office, public relations and marketing for the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville, administrator of marketing and communications for the RGV MultiBank, and before that Harlingen Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director, and Communications Director for the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Before that - and something she doesn't mention in her Linkedin resume - she was also a reporter for the Brownsville Herald.
Falfurrias is hardly a metropolis.
It had all of 6,200 souls in the llano of Brooks County as of 2010. It is about as far away from modern civilization as one would want to get. It is also the site where bodies of dead migrants are routinely found as they seek to avoid the Border Patrol checkpoint on US 281. It is 81 miles southwest of Corpus Christi, 90 miles southeast of Laredo, and 36 miles south of Alice.
Brownsville is 117 miles south as urraca flies.
As city administrator, she was - and now Tucker is - responsible for overseeing nearly six (6) department and division managers, who supervise 50 employees. She is also responsible for the development of program and policy alternatives for consideration by the mayor and council, as well as the implementation of those policies and programs adopted by them.
Other responsibilities include meeting with private citizens, community groups, and public/private entities regarding city policies and programs.
The city budget for 2020 totaled $2.5 million.
When she left her position at the the office of the Cameron County District Attorney's Office she stated left for "personal advancement." Fellow staff members said she had demanded Cascos name her in charge of the office when he left town and that he had refused.
And she was at the Harlingen Convention and Visitors Bureau for only about a year before she was involved in a full-blown controversy. When she left the position of administrative assistant for then-
Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos, she left under similar circumstances.
Harlingen City Manager Dan Serna told the Valley Morning Star that Melissa Landin was fired for “insubordination or other disrespectful conduct,” according to the city’s notice of termination. Serna told the paper that details of the firing were confidential and that he didn't "discuss personnel-related matters."
Tucker - who says he has been commuting to Brownsville - every weekend, says that if his wife, a BISD teacher, has an opportunity to hire on the local school district they might consider moving there.
But for now, he is taking on the new responsibility to see where it will lead.
"Remember that our current city manager in Brownsville (Noel Bernal) used to be the city manager of Falfurrias," he quipped.
Less than a year after the City of Falfurrias in Brooks County named her city administrator, Melissa Landin (formerly Zamora) has left the position and her replacement is none other than former City of Brownsville and Brownsville Independent School District auditor Arvin Tucker.
The shakeup, according to Tucker, ame about when Landin notified him that she had a job offer somewhere in "West Texas," and that she had handed in her letter of resignation about two weeks ago.
Tucker, who had been contacted by Landin to apply for the position of city finance director was hired and about three months later was made assistant city manager under her. When she handed in her resignation, the city aldermen board accepted it appointed him as interim city manager.It is unknown where in West Texas Landin was offered a job, or if she accepted it to leave Falfurrias.
Landin was hired as a city administrator on July 2019 and got her Certificate in Public Management from UTRGV-Edinburg in December.
As city manager, her duties included supervising the city of Falfurrias departments, supporting maintenance of the city budget and representing the municipality vis-a-vis community groups and state and federal governments.
That might have been seen as a comedown from her previous positions as elected official (commissioner for the City of Brownsville), PIO for the Cameron County District Attorney's Office, public relations and marketing for the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville, administrator of marketing and communications for the RGV MultiBank, and before that Harlingen Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director, and Communications Director for the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Before that - and something she doesn't mention in her Linkedin resume - she was also a reporter for the Brownsville Herald.
Falfurrias is hardly a metropolis.
It had all of 6,200 souls in the llano of Brooks County as of 2010. It is about as far away from modern civilization as one would want to get. It is also the site where bodies of dead migrants are routinely found as they seek to avoid the Border Patrol checkpoint on US 281. It is 81 miles southwest of Corpus Christi, 90 miles southeast of Laredo, and 36 miles south of Alice.
Brownsville is 117 miles south as urraca flies.
As city administrator, she was - and now Tucker is - responsible for overseeing nearly six (6) department and division managers, who supervise 50 employees. She is also responsible for the development of program and policy alternatives for consideration by the mayor and council, as well as the implementation of those policies and programs adopted by them.
Other responsibilities include meeting with private citizens, community groups, and public/private entities regarding city policies and programs.
The city budget for 2020 totaled $2.5 million.
When she left her position at the the office of the Cameron County District Attorney's Office she stated left for "personal advancement." Fellow staff members said she had demanded Cascos name her in charge of the office when he left town and that he had refused.
And she was at the Harlingen Convention and Visitors Bureau for only about a year before she was involved in a full-blown controversy. When she left the position of administrative assistant for then-
Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos, she left under similar circumstances.
Harlingen City Manager Dan Serna told the Valley Morning Star that Melissa Landin was fired for “insubordination or other disrespectful conduct,” according to the city’s notice of termination. Serna told the paper that details of the firing were confidential and that he didn't "discuss personnel-related matters."
Tucker - who says he has been commuting to Brownsville - every weekend, says that if his wife, a BISD teacher, has an opportunity to hire on the local school district they might consider moving there.
But for now, he is taking on the new responsibility to see where it will lead.
"Remember that our current city manager in Brownsville (Noel Bernal) used to be the city manager of Falfurrias," he quipped.