Travis reappoints Central Health critic to board
The Travis County Commissioners Court went into an unusual closed session last week to consider what generally is a routine matter: reappointing a member of the Central Health board.
But Cynthia Valadez is not a routine appointee. The former Central Health critic and member of LULAC — the League of United Latin American Citizens — won a seat on the board in February to finish a term ending Dec. 31. Since then, she has asked many questions about all aspects of the organization and pushed to have meetings televised.
The commissioners sought feedback on Valadez’s performance and went into closed session to discuss it Sept. 29.
“Frankly, Cynthia was a controversial appointment and has been a controversial member of the board since then,” said Deece Eckstein, the county’s intergovernmental relations coordinator. “The judge wanted to share the results of the inquiry to determine if she was a good contributor to the organization.”
Evidently, the commissioners decided that she is. They unanimously reappointed Valadez, this time to a full, four-year term on the all-volunteer, nine-member board, which oversees health care
services to indigent Travis County residents. Commissioner Ron Davis had already left the meeting and was absent for the 4-0 vote.
Eckstein and a spokesman for Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt declined to discuss the feedback on Valadez.
“I can’t discuss whether it was positive or negative feedback,” Eckhardt Chief of Staff Peter Einhorn said. “It was feedback.”
The American-Statesman submitted an open records request to Central Health and the county for all public documents concerning the reappointment.
For her part, Valadez said she didn’t know what was said because she was not in the closed session. She told the commissioners in open court she did not object to them meeting privately. Several letters supportive of her continuing on the board were in the court’s publicly available agenda packet.
“I never thought it was going to be routine,” Valadez said in an interview earlier this week. “This may be the first time someone who has been a consumer and living around the part of the population (that Central Health serves) was considered to be seated on the board.”
Valadez added that while her perspective “may cause consternation on the part of some,” she enjoys serving, has always felt welcomed by her fellow board members and has found the staff to be “respectful, even though we’re not always in agreement.”
“I personally like her,” said Clarke Heidrick, who has served on the Central Health board since its inception. “She works very hard and has a very distinct point of view from the consumers of health care, and that, I think, is helpful.”