Killeen city secretary candidate withdraws ‘for personal reasons’

After being picked from among 102 applicants, Hector Gomez is no longer a candidate for Killeen city secretary.

“He withdrew for personal reasons,” City Manager Kent Cagle told the Herald on Wednesday.

His confirmation was scheduled for Tuesday during a City Council meeting. But during the agenda approval, Gomez was removed from the consent agenda and the issue was not discussed further.

No other information on Gomez’s withdrawal was available on Wednesday, including the timeline for finding his replacement.

Meanwhile, Holli Clements, a 17-year-employee, was confirmed as city attorney to succeed Traci Briggs. Like Gomez, a deputy city clerk in Carlsbad, California, her appointment was part of the consent agenda.

Clements was one of 15 candidates to apply for city attorney. The position pays $194,000 — up from the $170,568.11 salary Briggs received until her retirement to take a job at Central Texas College.

Clements started her career in public service in 2003 as an assistant county attorney and district attorney in Milam County. In 2005, she was hired in Killeen as assistant city attorney (courts) and remained in that role until 2013, when she became deputy city attorney (public works).

Seven years later, she was named Killeen’s deputy city attorney. She was appointed interim city attorney after Briggs retired in June.

Gomez was introduced to the City Council on Aug. 16 via Zoom. According to city documents, 54 candidates met or exceeded minimum qualifications for the position, with one candidate — Gomez — having experience as city secretary.

Since Lucy Aldrich’s resignation on July 15, Laura Calcote has been interim city secretary. Aldrich had been with the city for 19 years.