PECOS, Tx., April 24, 2026: The Pecos city council terminated its consulting contract with former El Paso city manager, Tommy Gonzalez yesterday. The council voted unanimously to terminate the $9,500 a month contract it awarded to Gonzalez in 2024. Pecos city councilman Randy Graham led the effort to terminate the contract. Gonzalez’s contact was set to expire next week on April 30th, but Graham, who wanted the record to be clear that the city was “terminating” the contract moved to terminate it instead of allowing it to expire. Graham’s motion was seconded by Hector Carrasco and the city council voted unanimously to terminate it.
Since being hired in 2024, Gonzalez delivered one strategic planning services report. The only known report Gonzalez produced under the contract was criticized by several city council members. Graham interrupted the call to the public portion of the Pecos city council meeting on March 27 to let the public know that he is “so upset” that his city is paying Gonzalez $9,500 a month that he wants him “to hit the highway.” Through this month, Pecos has paid Gonzalez $215,988.37 under its contract with him.
Graham said that when he voted for Gonzalez to get the Pecos contract, he did not know that Gonzalez had been fired by the El Paso city council. He said that he “might not have voted” for the contract had he known that Gonzalez had been fired.
Several Pecos city council members have criticized Gonzalez’s report as “underwhelming.”
Pecos resident, Nancy Anchondo, speaking during call to the public yesterday urged the city council not to renew the contract. She argued that it is money that “could have been used elsewhere in our community.” She added that Gonzalez “is a man who has his hands in multiple honey pots, [and is] smooth talker.”
Anchondo went on to complain about Pecos City Manager Charles Lino. According to Anchondo, who introduced herself as “a business owner and taxpayer,” Lino is earning a “six-figure salary” but requires three assistants. Pecos was three city manager assistants. They are Heather Ramirez, Griffin Moreland and Nicole Alderete-Ferrini.
Anchondo said that Gonzalez, “and his third assistant which earns more than the first assistant all worked in El Paso at the same time, where Tommy was fired and Nicole lied on her resume,” asking if that was a “conflict of interest.”
The speaker was referring to former El Paso Chief Resilience Officer and city manager finalist after Gonzalez was fired by the El Paso city council, Nicole Alderete-Ferrini. In 2024, Alderete-Ferrini left the city unannounced after questions arose about whether she falsified her professional credentials were raised. El Paso News reported that a source told them that Alderete-Ferrini left the city in lieu of termination.
She is paid $155,000 annually at Pecos. It is not clear when she was hired.
Alderete-Ferrini is facing a potential lawsuit from community activist Max Grossman over an editorial she wrote that made unfounded allegations against Grossman. Grossman had accused Alderete-Ferrini of falsely misrepresenting that she was an architect. This raised questions about her credential among city officials until she unexpectedly resigned.
Gonzalez was fired in 2023 by the El Paso city council. He is paid $330,000 as Midland’s city manager.
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Cover photograph credit: Nicole Alderete-Ferrini insert on the left, and Tommy Gonzalez on the right. Gonzalez picture courtesy of City of Midland and Alderete-Ferrini courtesy of Pecos.
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