Chief Internal Auditor Edmundo Calderon is retiring.
The El Paso City Council accepted Calderon’s retirement during its meeting Monday, July 21. Calderon submitted his retirement notice on July 18, just days after marking 20 years on the job, which will take effect Aug. 1.
“It has truly been my pleasure to serve the City Council, city management, and most importantly, the taxpayers of the City of El Paso for the last 20 years,” Calderon said in a city news release. “As I look forward to opening the next chapter of my life, I am grateful to have spent a career committed to public service.”
Though just announced, Calderon said the decision to retire was made last year.
“The last three years have not been ideal for me,” he said. “They’ve been difficult. The mistreatment, the harassment … it wasn’t unbearable, it just wasn’t comfortable.”
“I’m a pretty tough guy and I can take a lot of stuff, but the last three years have been hard.”
Calderon, a little-known city administrator, gained attention in May 2023 when he reported on “excessive” fuel card usage by two former City Council members — city Reps. Cassandra Hernandez and Claudia Rodriguez.
Calderon’s reporting led to an Ethics Review Commission reprimand for Hernandez in July 2023 and another for Rodriguez in November 2023.
In August 2023, Calderon filed a whistleblower complaint against Hernandez and her husband, Jeremy Jordan, and former City Manager Tommy Gonzalez, citing instances of intimidation and retaliation, which his attorney said “affected (Calderon’s) compensation, promotion, demotion and performance evaluation.”
The whistleblower lawsuit was settled by September 2024 with undisclosed terms.
Calderon was slated for an employee evaluation but said the city declined to give him one despite his request that the evaluation move forward.
“There’s been inferences out there that I retired early because of a bad performance evaluation,” he said. “That is far from the truth because I was never given a performance evaluation.”
The City Council will appoint an interim chief internal auditor in the coming weeks while searching for a permanent replacement.
“Mr. Calderon has been instrumental in promoting transparency, accountability, and strong internal controls across the organization,” Mayor Renard Johnson said in the news release. “His two decades of service reflect a deep dedication to the residents of El Paso, and we thank him for his professionalism and integrity.”
Though he is happy with his decision to retire, Calderon said he is proud of the work he did on behalf of El Paso taxpayers.
“I’ve always worked for the taxpayers and it cost me a lot,” he said. “Doing the right thing is expensive but, at the end of the day, I did the right thing. I can raise my right hand and swear to the taxpayers that I did the right thing.”
“I didn’t do it for popularity, I did it because it was the right thing to do.”
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Chief Internal Auditor Edmundo Calderon to retire after 20 years of service
Reporting by Adam Powell, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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