Del Rio Residents Challenge City Council's Decision to Dismiss City Attorney

Members of The Border Organization took their concerns directly to elected officials over three days this month, publicly challenging the Del Rio City Council's decision to dismiss City Attorney Ana Markowski Smith and enter into a mutual separation agreement with her.

The grassroots advocacy group, known locally as TBO, organized the public challenge between March 4 and March 6, pressing council members to account for the circumstances surrounding Smith's departure. The council had approved the dismissal and mutual separation agreement on February 24, a decision that apparently caught some residents off guard and prompted TBO to mobilize.

The Border Organization has long served as one of Del Rio's most visible civic voices, regularly engaging city and county institutions on issues affecting the community. The group's decision to formally challenge the council's handling of the city attorney position signals broader concern about transparency in municipal governance, particularly around personnel decisions made in a city the size of Del Rio, where institutional relationships between elected officials and key legal staff carry significant weight.

Smith's role as city attorney placed her at the center of Del Rio's legal operations, advising the council on municipal law, contracts, and governance matters. Her dismissal, paired with a mutual separation agreement, left questions among residents about the process and reasoning behind the council's action.

TBO's intervention, published in a report on March 8, kept the issue in public view nearly two weeks after the council's February 24 vote, suggesting the matter is unlikely to be resolved without further public scrutiny of how the decision was made and what comes next for the position.