Sierra Martin
SAN MARCOS – Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra’s Chief of Staff, Alex Villalobos resigned this week according to County Commissioner Walt Smith.
No formal announcement was made, but Smith said Villalobos was pursuing other options.
According to Hays Free Press, Villalobos said he has been recruited to another job, where he can continue to utilize his skillset while receiving a higher wage. He did not disclose any information about his new work.
Following the 2018 General Election, Villalobos was hired as Judge Becerra’s Chief of Staff. Before taking the position, Villalobos was the Texas State police lieutenant under former Texas State Police Chief Jose Bañales. Bañales resigned from his position in May 2018 following allegations of falsifying government documents and the controversial arrest of four students protesting for the removal of former TXST student body president.
Villalobos left the Texas State police department after allegations that he acted improperly to access information that may have related to corruption charges against his brother. These allegations resurfaced this past year, during his unsuccessful race for sheriff of Hays County.
Villalobos was hired as Becerra’s chief of staff, but the commissioners later changed his position so that he worked for the entire court and upheld his position as a Kyle city council member.
Kyle ruled that it was not against its charter for Villalobos to hold both positions. According to a statement from the city of Kyle, “… laws governing dual office holding and common law incompatibility as currently interpreted do not prevent him from serving both positions. Mr. Villalobos will need to recuse himself and disclose the reason for disclosure where required by the Ethics Ordinance.”
Hays Free Press reported that there were many ups and downs for Villalobos during his two-year tenure at the county. He worked to improve the criminal justice system, pushing for more efficiency in trial scheduling. He was assigned emergency service coordination and helped set up COVID-19 testing sites throughout the county.
According to Hays Free Press, a national nonprofit investigative service also reported that Villalobos, along with the county judge, was under investigation by state officials concerning irregularities and potential conflict of interest for promoting a for-profit company that sought to sell questionable COVID services to local and statewide residents. Villalobos denied doing anything wrong in both cases.
Villalobos stated that there is currently no replacement for his position. Instead, other staff members will take over different parts of Villalobos’ job duties. Although this is the first time his resignation has been made public, Villalobos said it has been under discussion in the commissioner’s court for some time.
More information to come.
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