Hungry for a recall?

There’s something cooking in Brownsville.

An effort to remove the mayor from office begins in earnest Sunday at La Cocinita on International Boulevard.

Tickets for a barbecue chicken plate fundraiser are circulating among supporters of the recall movement, organized by a local college student “fed up” with politics in our city.

Joey Garza doesn’t study politics at UTB-TSC but hopes to ace an important civics lesson: the power of the people.

The sophomore kinesiology major and community activist said he began the effort to recall Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr. because he is ashamed of the way the city is being run.

“Citizens of Brownsville got together about three months ago and talked about the embarrassment this city has turned into,” he said Thursday. “We all want the best for our city.”

Garza is confident he has the support he needs to remove the mayor from the office he won in June after a hard-fought runoff against former City Commissioner Ernie L. Hernandez Jr.

Tickets to help seed the recall campaign are selling for $5 and are good for a rotisserie chicken leg quarter, rice, beans and flour tortillas. Plates can be picked up between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Mi Cocinita at the Lopez Super Market at 2818 International Blvd. Tickets are being sold at the door Sunday.

Garza did not know how many plates had been sold as of Thursday afternoon, though he hopes to raise several thousand dollars to make signs advertising the recall.

The mayor said he was not aware of the fundraiser or Garza’s campaign to kick him off the City Commission but, “It doesn’t surprise me.”

“There (are) some people that don’t accept that I won the election democratically,” Ahumada said.

According to the City Charter: “The people of the city of Brownsville reserve the power to recall any member of the city commission and may exercise such power by filing with the city secretary a petition signed by at least 25 percent of the qualified voters of the city demanding the removal of a member of the city commission.”

Cameron County Elections Administrator Roger Ortiz said there are between 70,000 and 80,000 voters living here. Between 17,500 and 20,000 signatures of the city’s registered voters would have to sign the petition in order for a recall to take place.

About 7,500 total votes were cast in the run-off election that seated Ahumada in June

Should Ahumada be recalled, the City Charter calls for mayor pro-tem, Commissioner Charlie Atkinson, to assume the duties of acting mayor while the City Commission calls for a new election.

The mayor said he suspects Hernandez and former Mayor Eddie Treviño Jr. are behind Garza’s plan.

“He has made it a habit of blaming everybody else when things don’t go his way,” Hernandez said in a telephone interview and denied prompting a recall.

“I have nothing to do with this. I have a business to run,” he said, but added that if the recall were successful, he would consider a fourth run for the office.

“This is the first I hear about it,” Treviño said. “I have nothing to do with this.

“Mr. Ahumada seems to think that whatever happens in his life — negative — I have something to do with it. He needs to get a grip of reality.”

Garza had not begun collecting signatures as of Thursday but plans to start after Sunday’s chicken plate sale.

“I invite any citizen (who) wants to participate in this recall to do so we (can) bring back integrity and restore stability at City Hall,” he said. “Enough is enough. It’s time for change.”