News - It's time for Poteet mayor's resignation

n our system of government, the accused have rights, and an indictment should never be confused with a conviction.

But voters have rights, too; they have the right to have leaders who represent them effectively.

In Poteet, it is highly unlikely that the voters are getting that kind of representation.

The town is in a political mudhole, and it seems to be getting deeper all the time.

It started when Poteet Mayor Lino Donato, on trial for charges of sexual indecency, pleaded guilty last summer, a plea that failed to result in a final conviction because the adjudication was deferred. He has since recanted and sought a new trial, the newspaper reported.

That was bad enough, but according to indictments handed down this week, Donato is accused of indecency with a young girl in incidents six weeks before that trial, the Express-News reported.

The charges are serious, as were the early indictments resulting in the trial last year, but since the adjudication was deferred in the earlier case, Donato retained his position as mayor, leaving the town in the untenable situation of having its chief representative on the registry as a sex offender.

Donato can't go to council meetings because of City Hall's proximity to the library where children may congregate, the newspaper reported.

And the district attorney has asked a judge to remove Donato from his post because of continued absences. The case has not been resolved.

It is not a question of guilt and innocence; that is for the courts to decide.

The issue centers on charges that have rendered the public official unable to represent the community that voted him into office.

Donato should have resigned months ago, but it is not too late to act in the best interests of the town's voters.

Source : Mysanantonio