Mayor and city council recall, Crystal City, Texas (2016)
| Crystal City Mayor and City Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Rogelio Mata Marco Rodruiguez |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| May 7, 2016 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in Texas Texas recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports |
Efforts in Crystal City, Texas, to recall Mayor Ricardo Lopez, Mayor Pro-Tem Rogelio Mata, and Councilman Marco Rodriguez from their positions were launched in November 2015. Zavala County Judge Amado Abascal ordered review of recall petitions on February 11, 2016, after City Clerk Selina Ramos did not certify signatures based on her interpretation of the city charter.[1][2] The city council was unable to achieve a quorum to schedule an election and Abascal ordered the council to hold a meeting on March 8, 2016, to place the recall on the May 2016 ballot.[3] The recall efforts against all three officials were approved by voters.[4]
Recall vote
Recall votes for Lopez, Mata, and Rodriguez took place on May 7, 2016. Lopez appeared on the ballot despite his resignation because his name remained on the ballot for the regularly scheduled mayoral election.[5]
| Recall of Ricardo Lopez | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Recall | 526 | 89.91% | ||
| Retain | 59 | 10.09% | ||
| Recall of Rogelio Mata | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 451 | 77.49% | ||
| Retain | 131 | 22.51% | ||
| Recall of Marco Rodriguez | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 440 | 76.66% | ||
| Retain | 134 | 23.34% | ||
Recall supporters
Recall organizers submitted petitions against Lopez, Mata and Rodriguez on November 9, 2015. The petitions cited a $220,000 contract for City Manager James Jonas and a lack of public confidence. On February 4, 2016, Lopez, Mata, and Councilman Roel Mata were arrested on federal bribery charges related to an illegal gambling operation run by Ngoc Tri Nguyen. The federal indictment claimed that the city manager's annual salary was increased to gain Jonas's support for the operation. The indictment also suggested that Lopez and Jonas helped Nguyen by waiving tax payments and denying a license for a legal gambling operation. Rodriguez was targeted for recall due to his arrest in January 2016 for illegally transporting migrants into the country.[6]
The arrests meant that Councilman Joel Barajas was the only member of the city council not facing charges prior to the recall. The city charter requires at least three of the five council members to be present at a meeting to conduct business. Resignations by Lopez, Roel Mata, and Rogelio Mata left the council with only two members.[7][8]
Mayor's arrest at city council meeting
On February 11, 2016, Lopez said that he would resign from his position rather than face a recall election.[9] The Crystal City Council met on February 16, 2016, to discuss the recall with only Lopez, Rodriguez, and Joel Barajas available to reach a quorum. Lopez disputed the city clerk's assertion that the five-day period to resign or face recall elapsed. This dispute led Lopez to leave the meeting to find a copy of the city charter.[10]
Lopez was involved in an altercation with meeting attendee Natalia Sena upon his return to the council chambers. Local police arrested Lopez at the meeting for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. The police later charged him with possession of a prohibited controlled substance at a prison after Vicodin was found in his possession.[11] Lopez was released from jail on February 17, 2016, but Barajas was the only person to attend the resumed council meeting on the same evening.[12]
Lopez resigned from the mayor's office on February 20, 2016.[13]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Texas
Petitions with approximately 1,200 signatures against Lopez, Mata, and Rodriguez were submitted to City Clerk Selina Ramos in November 2015. Ramos refused to verify petitions because organizers did not submit signatures equaling at least 51 percent of the total votes in all races voted on at the last municipal election. In his decision, Abascal ruled in favor of organizers who argued that the 51 percent requirement only applied to the number of voters who cast ballots in the last election. Ramos's interpretation would have required a greater number of signatures because each ballot featured multiple races.[1][2]
The city clerk's office verified enough signatures for a recall on February 11, 2016, with each official given five days to resign or face election.[1][2] On March 3, 2016, Judge Abascal ordered the three remaining council members to schedule a recall election for May 2016.[3]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Recall 'Crystal City'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 KSAT, "Crystal City Clerk certifies recall petition of mayor, 2 council members," February 11, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Fox San Antonio, "Zavala County Judge takes steps towards recall election," February 9, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 KSAT, "Judge: Crystal City City Council must order recall election," March 3, 2016
- ↑ News 4 San Antonio, "Crystal City residents vote to remove indicted city leaders in recall election," May 7, 2016
- ↑ KSAT, "Crystal City will hold recall election," March 8, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "FBI arrests nearly all of the top officials of Crystal City, Tex.," February 8, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "This might be the most corrupt little town in America," March 5, 2016
- ↑ KSAT, "Crystal City council member resigns Wednesday," March 9, 2016
- ↑ KENS 5, "Crystal City mayor will resign in wake of recall," February 11, 2016
- ↑ NewsOn6, "Indicted Texas mayor jailed after disrupted council meeting," accessed February 17, 2016
- ↑ KSAT, "Sheriff: Crystal City Mayor had Vicodin pill when he arrived at jail," February 17, 2016
- ↑ News 4 San Antonio, "Judge to schedule recall election for Crystal City mayor, 2 council members," February 17, 2016
- ↑ Pantagraph, "South Texas mayor resigns after indictment, recall petition," February 20, 2016
