1 applicant’s background

SAN BENITO - One of the candidates who has applied to be the next city manager here has a murky employment history, including allegations of untruthfulness on his resumé and landing in jail for the alleged fabrications.

The applicant, Scott Starnes, served as city manager for Eagle Pass for seven months before he was terminated. Starnes, who also goes by the first name Glen, was fired from the $85,000-a-year job after the Eagle Pass City Council investigated his past, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

In Eagle Pass, Starnes was known as Glen; his resumé for San Benito states his name is Scott. Starnes said he uses both first names. "My name is Glen Scott Starnes," he said last week.

Starnes was arrested by Maverick County Sheriff deputies in January, and charged with getting a government job fraudulently, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

The alleged fabrications included his claim that he had been an assistant city manager for Converse, Texas, and an aide to former U.S. Rep. Jack Fields of Houston.

City officials at Converse said on Tuesday Starnes had never worked there.

Starnes did not include the City of Converse in his experience on his San Benito application, but did state that he worked for Fields.

When contacted last week, Starnes said the Texas Workforce Commission ruled in his favor on the charges against him from Eagle Pass.

The TWC ruled that he was not untruthful on his application, he said.

That document could not be released by the TWC, a spokeswoman said, unless Starnes sent a signed letter approving the release. Starnes did not return a phone call or e-mail for that request Thursday afternoon.

Starnes said he did work for Fields, but had incorrect dates on his resumé for Eagle Pass.

"There was some confusion," he explained.

On his resumé for San Benito, provided by the city, Starnes said he worked as a congressional aide for Fields with duties that included managing district activities and serving as a liaison to the district and its constituents from 1989 to 1992.

Jim Finley, who served as the assistant congressional executive to Fields in Houston, said he doesn't know Starnes.

"I was in charge of hiring and I did not know him," Finley said Thursday.

Starnes provided two names that he said could confirm his time with the congressman.

One of those contacts, Robert Ferguson, the former chief of staff for Fields in Washington, D.C. said he actually didn't recall if Starnes had worked at the Houston district office. In fact, Ferguson deferred the issue to Finley, who had worked at the Houston office with the congressman during his political tenure.

"I personally do not remember the fellow," Ferguson said Thursday.

Finley said he has spoken to a number of his former staff and none can remember Starnes.

He said Starnes could have been a volunteer, but Starnes was never on the payroll.

"He may be the nicest guy in the world, but I don't know him," he said of Starnes.

Ferguson said the job duties listed on Starnes' resumé could not be the work of an unpaid intern.

On Oct. 1, Starnes will start a new job as city manager of Grantville, Ga.

According to a Georgia Web site, the city is about 5.2 square miles and has a population of about 1,300. It is about 50 miles away from Atlanta. His salary was not immediately available.

Mayor Joe H. Hernandez on Friday said the commission has not looked at the candidates yet. In October, the commission will look at resumés and eliminate candidates not suitable for the city.

When asked if he would hire a person accused of twisting the truth on their resumé, Hernandez said, "Absolutely not."

He added: "We're going to screen (the candidates) closely."