Port Arthur council interviews city attorney candidates

Four months have passed since Port Arthur City Attorney Valecia Tizeno retired from her position.

On Thursday city councilmembers interviewed four people in open session as they work to find a permanent replacement.

Veteran attorney James Black is serving as interim attorney since Tizeno’s retirement. He is not in the running for the job.

City leaders used Strategic Government Resources as a search firm to find the applicants.

The four individuals interviewed include Roxann Cotroneo, William McIlyar, Samer Shobassy and Quentin Price.

Each interview consisted of separate sections, a 10-minute session for the applicant to tell about themselves and experience, followed by questions from each councilmember.

The applicant was then allowed time to ask questions of council and present a closing statement.

Roxann Cotroneo

Cotroneo is a 29-year municipal law attorney. She spent the first 14 years she spent with the city of Dallas followed by Harlingen. She opened her own firm in San Antonio and represents a number of cities as a contract attorney. She also spent time as a special assistant United States attorney, she said.

She is passionate about code enforcement, economic development, legislation, and being engaged with community justice based initiatives.

She explained she spent time in some of the most crime ridden areas of Dallas as part of her job, meeting with people in the neighborhoods not actively involved but perceived as leaders in their neighborhood. Through this she learned of their problems such as a drug house.

The drug house wasn’t big enough for a large drug bust so she found other legal ways to clean the neighborhood such as zoning violations and code enforcement.

William (Kent) McIlyar

McIlyar has served the past seven years in Corpus Christi as senior assistant city attorney. He previously served as city attorney in Paris, Texas.

Councilman Donald Frank was the first to pose a question to McIlyar, asking the attorney to tell of an opportunity he had to negotiate a public-private partnership between the city and a private entity.

He said he had some exposure this while in Corpus Christi but ultimately the city decided against it.

While serving in Paris, he also served as counsel for their economic development corporation where the manufacturing industry was active, he said.

McIlyar was asked of his greatest feat while working with municipalities. Economic development incentive agreements in Paris and while in Corpus Christi he helped the city manager set up a storm water utility program under state law. To do this he worked with several city offices, he said.

Samer Shobassy

Samer Shobassy previously held the title of assistant city attorney of Port Arthur from October 2010 to Dec. 2015.

Mayor Pro Tem Doneane Beckcom asked a pet peeve, procrastination in the city attorney’s office.

“We’ve had several incidents where, say a contract is being negotiated and it’s out in the legal department for too long,” Beckcom said. “We’ve had some other, lease agreements, that were ready to expire where we had a request for an extension on a lease agreement and it just sat there. So what is your philosophy about workflow?”

Shobassy feels the use of technology is the best approach as well as the use of staff.

“Organization is key, but also utilizing your staff around you to keep reminders and so forth. So not only using technology when it comes to your phone, your calendars and so forth, but you need staff members that keep you abreast of things through technology, maybe your calendars and so forth,” Shobassy said.

Delegating responsibilities is imperative, he added.

Councilman Harold Doucet said there are times when council wants to do things as a majority but at the same time the decision may not be in the best interest of the city and citizens and what is legal.

Shobassy said the council as a whole is the decision maker, he’s the advisor, adding he always believed in writing his opinions so he can be held accountable for them.

Councilman Thomas Kinlaw III asked how Shobassy would handle a situation where the city manager and council have differing opinions on a situation. The answer boils down to the basics of the job description.

“Yes, as you said, I’m here as an attorney to advise the council and also advise executive staff but ultimately you exercise decision making with regard to employment as a city attorney,” Shobassy said.

Quentin Price

Price is currently an assistant district attorney for Jefferson County in the civil division.

Kinlaw asked Price how he would approach accountability and building relationships when there is time sensitive material.

“When you’re the attorney, you want to be right. You don’t want to be quick with an answer that you know comes off the top of your head that’s not right,” Price said. “You’ve got to make sure it’s right before you give it so while you have accountability, you have to take whatever time is necessary to give the correct answer.”

Price also said he has no problem admitting when he doesn’t know an answer; when that happens he will find the correct answer.

City council

Councilmembers spent a large portion of the day interviewing the city attorney applicants. No hiring decision was made Thursday.

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