PRESIDIO COUNTY — When County Attorney Rod Ponton — who has for years been recognized as chair of the Presidio County Historical Commission — showed up for a commission meeting he set last Thursday at the courthouse, no other members except Robert Arber were present. Without a quorum, Ponton was forced to reschedule the meeting.
But he was then confronted by outgoing Precinct 1 County Commissioner Brenda Bentley and Precinct 1 County Commissioner-elect Deirdre Hisler, who told Ponton that the meeting hadn’t been posted properly and that his informal method of appointing commission members did not follow state law — therefore his commission did not exist. (Ponton posted the meeting on paper on the courthouse doors for 1:30 p.m., but then later emailed his commission members that it was being moved to 2:30 p.m. — potentially an illegal change.) Hisler told Ponton that the Commissioners Court is going to reboot the body and officially appoint new members in January 2025.
State law says a county “may” appoint a historical commission, and if it does it should be composed of at least seven members with two-year terms who are appointed by a county’s commissioners court every two years in odd-numbered years. That would be this January. Hisler said most of the people currently serving on the commission were appointed in 2020 and their terms expired in 2022.
“The historical commission has been operating somewhat informally, but that’s the way it has been for a long time,” Ponton said. “It’s just informally under my leadership, and we’ll be prepared — and we’ll present bylaws for approval — and start handling things in a more formal manner.” Under Ponton’s leadership, a variety of members attend meetings, sometimes being formally recognized as commission members, sometimes just as interested citizens.
Ponton said Hisler doesn’t have any authority to make the statements she did at the canceled meeting. “She doesn’t have any business over the commission or the bylaws or anything like that other than trying to impose her will over everything,” Ponton said.
Mona Garcia, who has also served as the chair — or what Ponton and Garcia call the “president” of the commission — in the past said she agreed with Ponton that the body has operated in good faith, has done good work and was not trying to exclude anyone. Ponton noted that the commission submitted two historical marker applications to the Texas Historical Commission (THC) that were approved this year — Cibolo Rock (currently Elephant Rock) near Shafter and the historic adobe church in Ruidosa, El Corazon Sagrado de la Iglesia de Jesus (the Sacred Heart of the church of Jesus).
Ponton said the THC recognized him as the commission chair, with his approval needed on marker applications.
Hisler said that during her campaign for county commissioner this spring, constituents came to her to express concern about Ponton’s leadership of the commission and its lack of openness to the community. The issue also came up in a February candidates forum for the county attorney race, which Ponton lost to Blair Park in the March Democratic primary, when a Presidio resident complained of inadequate meeting notices and limited opportunity to give input on historical markers. Ponton told The Big Bend Sentinel at the time that he would strive to be more open by getting meeting agendas posted not only on the courthouse and courthouse annex doors, but also by email to The Sentinel and online. That did not happen, and The Sentinel only learned of the Thursday meeting through Hisler.
Ponton said Hisler could have come to him, expressed an interest in getting the commission to follow the law with court appointees and help to communicate meeting times. Instead, he said, she got on the August 7 Commissioners Court agenda to ask to be officially appointed to gather names of commissioners nominated for appointment in January. While the court did not vote on the matter, Hisler said she left the meeting feeling that she needed to gather nominations because she said that she’ll have that power in January to put appointments on the agenda, so she needs to collect the names of those interested now.
County Judge Joe Portillo said that making the commission follow the exact letter of state law is not a pressing issue for him, but he understands Hisler’s passion for history with her former role in state parks, and if she puts appointments on the agenda in January, he’ll be happy to formally vote to appoint them. “I haven’t given [the commission] the attention that it deserves. It will eventually be addressed after the dust settles and everyone gets sworn in” on the new Commissioners Court, he said.
Precinct 4 County Commissioner David Beebe said he didn’t think the issue was pressing either in August, but now he’s completely on board with official appointees in January nominations from Hisler or others, he said. Precinct 2 County Commissioner Margarito Hernandez did not return a request for comment.
Ponton said Hisler is trying to replace current commission members for political reasons not necessarily tied to anything to do with history or how he leads the body.
Hisler counters that she — with her long history working for the Texas State Parks & Wildlife Department — understands the importance of following the law, especially since the county works with THC on high-dollar grant projects. Ponton could have easily made the commission more formal and followed the law, and he hasn’t worked to try and make the commission more open, she said. “I come from a bureaucracy, and so I do believe in crossing our T’s and dotting our I’s, and you can expect me to serve as commissioner that does that,” Hisler said. “What is the harm in reaching out to our community to see if people have an interest? Which is what I want to do.”
Ponton and Garcia said they both want to be on the commission moving forward and will submit their names to the county judge for consideration. Ponton previously said many rural counties operate their historical commissions informally without appointments in court. Jeff Davis County Judge Curtis Evans and Brewster County Historical Commission Co-Chair Elizabeth Lewis said they do formal appointments in their commissioners courts every two years as the law stipulates.
Ponton later clarified that most small counties leave the nomination lists up to the members of their current historical commission. Those members seek any other possible members interested in serving, then present them to their commissioners courts. Evans and Lewis said that’s how it works in their counties.
Ponton said he planned to bring up the matter of collecting names of those interested in serving at Thursday’s canceled meeting. Now, he said he’s ready to do that, which leaves interested Presidio County residents in the odd position of submitting their information to either Ponton or Hisler, or both.
Hisler said those interested should send her a letter of interest with a resume of their background and how it would fit into the role of a commissioner to P.O. Box 778, Marfa, Texas, 79843 or to deirdrehisler@gmail.com. She said she wants a diverse list of people — all ages and experiences from all over the county — to apply. “I want this truly to be a reflection of what the county looks like,” she said.
On Tuesday, Ponton also decided to make the invitation formal and emailed The Sentinel: “The Presidio County Historical Commission seeks volunteers with a professional commitment to the historic and cultural heritage of Presidio County. Persons interested in serving as commissioners will attend four or more meetings a year, may serve on committees, and must be dedicated to preserving and communicating the rich historical heritage of Presidio County. Interested persons should submit a letter of interest explaining their qualifications to Rod Ponton, Chairman, Presidio County Historical Commission. The Presidio County Commissioners Court will appoint seven or more members by January 2025 to serve for two years. Email information to pontonrod@gmail.com.”