A dispute between two people who claim to be the legal president of Centro Civico Mexicano will be settled by the Utah Department of Commerce, Centro Civico board members decided Tuesday night.

President John Renteria, ousted in an emergency meeting held while he was in jail, and Centro Civico Secretary Margarita Rodriguez, who was selected to act as president at the emergency meeting, were directed to meet with the state department.

The decision was made after 90 minutes of contentious debate, which included shouting and accusations by several board members. The final, if temporary, compromise was reached when Renteria told board members he would contact state officials today and ask for their help.

Centro Civico Mexicano is the oldest nonprofit Hispanic organization in Utah, according to its Web site. It has been operating since 1939 and currently houses an alternative high school, a computer lab and an English-as-a-second-language program at its facilities, located at 155 S. 600 West. The organization also hosts cultural celebrations such as Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day. Centro Civico has survived financial problems in recent years and is currently the subject of a police investigation into the theft of up to $20,000 in organization funds, according to Renteria.

Renteria, who has announced his candidacy for Salt Lake City mayor, was jailed for about two weeks in June for violating probation for misdemeanor traffic offenses. He has been sentenced to wear an ankle-monitoring device for 30 days, but his punishment has not yet begun. A hearing scheduled for Monday will decide conditions of the punishment, he said.

Renteria said after the meeting he was "guardedly optimistic" that he would be allowed to continue his civic duties while serving the 30-day sentence. He said he does not feel his conflicts with the Centro Civico board will affect his mayoral candidacy. He hopes to finish his term as president, which ends in November.

"I'm part of an ongoing effort to do something positive for the community," he said. "Centro Civico was here before I came; it's been here my whole life.... We have to do more to solidify, to unify."

Rodriguez said during the meeting the organization has lost confidence in Renteria and the board will not follow his leadership. She left the meeting before it was adjourned.

Board member Richard Montano agreed with Renteria that Centro Civico is a strong organization that will continue to help the Hispanic community.

"We're an intelligent, well-meaning people," he said. "This is a critical point in our agency and our community."

Neither Renteria nor Montano will attend a meeting, scheduled by Rodriguez for Saturday morning, to discuss Renteria's presidency, the men said Tuesday. They do not believe anything decided at the meeting would be legal under Centro Civico bylaws, and Renteria said the only way to keep the organization afloat is to do everything by the book.

---

E-mail: RPalmer@desnews.com

Contributing: Deborah Bulkeley