Opinion ID: 2826333
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: A lot of it was the community telling me – you

Text: know, once I announced that I was looking into, you know, running for councilman, a lot of people approached me. You know, yes, we need a change, you know, and we need some more younger people or different people to go in there and try to make better decisions. Q. Okay. What – and did you – is that basically what your platform was based upon? A. Yes. Wanted to help out and see if I could make a difference. Later in the deposition, Palacios’s attorney asked Sendejo the following question: “you mentioned that others had come to you and said they, I guess, wanted new blood . . . younger blood in the City administration, correct?” Sendejo responded that this was correct. Palacios’s attorney was the only person to use the phrase “younger blood.” Diaz and Sendejo both won seats on the city council. Shortly after joining the city council, Diaz requested that Palacios put an item on the agenda of the next city council meeting regarding her continued employment. Diaz also drafted a preliminary resolution for Palacios’s removal. The resolution listed grounds for termination as: (1) that the council lost confidence in the ability of the city manager to manage the city according to generally accepted management principles; (2) that the city manager knowingly failed to comply with the collateral agreement on a loan with the Zavala Country Bank, which 3 Case: 14-51176 Document: 00513148975 Page: 4 Date Filed: 08/11/2015 No. 14-51176 exposed the city to risk as a borrower; and (3) that the city manager mismanaged the sales taxes approved by the voters that were designed for street repairs. Mayor Perez refused to allow the resolution to go forward. Councilman Lopez then moved to terminate Palacios’s employment due to a “lack of confidence.” Sendejo, Lopez, and Diaz, a majority of the city council, voted in support of the motion to terminate Palacios. Following Palacios’s termination, the city council temporarily replaced her with interim city manager John Camarillo, a male approximately her same age. The city council then advertised the city manager position in the local newspaper. The position announcement listed several ways that an applicant could demonstrate that he or she was qualified, including specified combinations of education and experience or “any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.” The required knowledge, skills, and abilities were specifically identified in the announcement and generally included management ability, interpersonal skills, knowledge of budgets, communication skills, data analysis, and the ability to prioritize and implement city policies. Several people applied for the position, including Alfredo Gallegos and a female applicant. The female applicant had one year’s experience as a city manager during which she worked for two different cities. Her academic credentials were not specified. Gallegos had a bachelor’s degree in business administration in accounting, but no experience in public administration. According to Lopez, Diaz, and Sendejo, the city council elected not to hire the female applicant because it learned during the interview that she had difficulty getting along with the city council in the cities where she had previously served as city manager, and that she had been terminated from her previous employment as city manager. The city council hired Gallegos. 4 Case: 14-51176 Document: 00513148975 Page: 5 Date Filed: 08/11/2015 No. 14-51176 Palacios sued in Texas state court alleging breach of contract and violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act, and seeking a writ of mandamus and declaratory relief. The city asserted an immunity-based defense that was denied by the trial court, and the city appealed. While that appeal was pending, Palacios sued the city in the federal district court, alleging age and sex discrimination. Texas’s Fourth Court of Appeals subsequently dismissed Palacios’s breach of contract claim and remanded her other claims to the state trial court, where Palacios added federal constitutional claims. The city then removed the case to federal court, and both cases were consolidated. The district court granted summary judgment for the city on all claims and Palacios now appeals only the grant of summary judgment as to her age and sex discrimination claims.