HONDO — A lawsuit filed Monday seeks to void the recall of three City Council members, saying the May 9 election deviated from provisions in the city charter and disadvantaged minority voters.
Attorney Jose Garza brought the action in U.S. District Court in San Antonio. The lawsuit alleges that the ballot's format and language were flawed, and that the required election pre-clearance wasn't obtained from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The ballot had “remove” improperly translated into Spanish as “revoke,” he said, and the recall targets were lumped into one proposition, rather than having a separate vote on each person, as called for by the city charter.
Mayor Jim Danner said he wasn't surprised by the city being sued over the bitter election, the outcome of which was affirmed in a recount.
Garza said Danner created another cause of action Monday by telling city staff not to accept filings by those recalled to run in the July 14 special election to fill the vacancies.
Danner announced his directive at a special meeting Monday called by lame-duck Councilmen J. Gruber and Vance Tomey, who lost re-election bids in Places 1 and 2 to Mike Sanchez and Clyde Haak, respectively.
In the meeting audience were Virginia Gonzales, Lucio Torrez and Chavel Lopez, recalled as of last Tuesday from Places 3, 4 and 5, respectively.
Danner concluded they were ineligible to run July 14, citing a charter passage that says a recalled councilman “shall not be a candidate to succeed himself in an election called to fill the vacancy created.”
Council members are elected by at-large places and don't represent specific areas of the city.
Danner said he didn't consult an attorney, but conferred with locals who worked on the inaugural home rule charter, adopted in 2007, and said they intended that anyone recalled would be ineligible to vie for any seat in elections to fill spots vacated by a recall.
Torrez and Lopez complained about being barred from speaking at the brief meeting. Torrez called Danner's actions another case of rules being bent.
Garza, who represented Torrez at the ballot recount Friday, also took exception to Danner's blocking those recalled from seeking a seat other than the one they had held.
No charter provision gives the mayor authority to so interpret it or direct staff, Garza said, adding, “He's essentially a figurehead that breaks tie votes on the council.”
Danner, Sanchez and Haak were to be sworn into office Monday evening.
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