On Tuesday night, members of Presidio City Council voted unanimously to remove Juanita Bishop and Patricia Runyan from the Presidio Municipal Development District (PMDD) Board. No reason was given to the public and no discussion was had amongst council members. From the audience, Bishop and Runyan asked to speak, but their requests were ignored and the vote proceeded without their input. Bishop also serves as Presidio County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace.
On Wednesday morning, just as The Big Bend Sentinel was going to press, PMDD Executive Director John Kennedy addressed the Presidio County Commissioners Court during public comment and alleged that Bishop, in her capacity as treasurer of PMDD, entered the board’s offices after hours the week prior with her husband and a sheriff’s deputy. “This visit was neither authorized by the full board, nor conducted under any formal legal process, warrant or internal protocol,” he said.
Kennedy announced the PMDD board’s intent to “initiate civil litigation” in connection with the incident.
Reached by phone, Bishop said that her alleged misconduct was a misunderstanding and that she had entered the office with a key to work on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. “I’m not accusing anybody of anything,” she said. “I just want transparency for the coming year’s budget.”
Runyan could not be reached immediately for comment, but the Sentinel was copied on an email chain between Runyan and city officials that documented some of her concerns about board activity. This is a developing story and the Sentinel will continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding these two abrupt announcements.