Arona mayor Reverón resigns

Update 21 November: Arona major José Alberto González Reverón resigned at midday today. The resignation comes after the failure of his appeal against a Court judgment in June which imposed a four and a half year disqualification from holding public office. The mayor had repeatedly refused to step down until his appeal was heard, despite an increasing clamour that he should do so. The now former mayor Reverón said that although he had the absolute respect for the  judicial administration, the sentence against him was “unjust, disproportionate and inhumane”. The opposition PP, however, has called for Sr Reverón to repay salary taken since the initial judgment on the grounds that the appeal had no chance of success anyway.

Update 31 October: Above is a video of the emergency council meeting called yesterday to approve (or not) mayor Reverón continuing in office while his appeal continues. Apart from that fact that I think Mena comes out of this with the credit I’d expect given that I supported his campaign at the last election, I won’t comment. Make your own minds up.

Update 24 October: And still it continues. There is now an almighty clamour demanding mayor Reverón step down but still he clings on, arguing that he isn’t required to resign until and unless his appeal ratifies the original judgment. Even a report commissioned by the Secretariat of Arona Ayuntamiento itself has found that there is an “incompatibility” between the mayor’s public office and the sentence he has been handed by the Courts, which disqualified him from holding public office. Arona PP councillor Dionisio Rocha said that the mayor must now recognize that his judgments had been wrong, and that the continuing media spectacle benefited nobody.

Update 3 July: Mayor Reverón is under attack now from all sides, not just opposition politicians, but Arona residents’ associations too. The mayor has “lost the confidence of residents since he was found guilty, and it isn’t legitimate for him to continue in his position” said representatives of resident associations Almácigo (Los Cristianos and Sol del Sur de Las Galletas) and Plataforma Ciudadana de Playa de las Américas. Both called for his immediate resignation.

Original post 29 June: Arona mayor José Alberto González Reverón has been found guilty of “un delito continuado de prevaricación por irregularidades en la contratación de personal para el Ayuntamiento” – a continued crime of corruption through irregularities in contracting council staff. Santa Cruz Juzgado de lo Penal number 1 imposed the penalty of four and a half years disqualification of holding public office. The mayor says that the ruling is “totally unjust” and that he will appeal.