Mayor enters fire dog fight: Ahumada raises possibility of Brownsville fire chief's termination

Tug of wars within the Brownsville Fire Department that have brewed for years have escalated with a dog, named Chief, now at the center of controversy and the mayor's proposal to oust the fire chief.

For now, Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr.'s proposal to evaluate and seek the ouster of city Fire Chief Lenny Perez at next week's City Commission meeting fizzled Tuesday when City Manager Charlie Cabler refused to place the item on the agenda.

"I did not even consider putting it on the agenda. It is perfectly clear that the mayor and commission hire the city manager and city attorney. All the other personnel is under my supervision," Cabler said.

Ahumada maintains that numerous complaints regarding Perez have been brought to his attention for years. "As mayor, I believe we have a responsibility and duty to bring to the attention of the city manager issues that come up regarding personnel or anything that affects city operations," Ahumada said.

"I am just a public servant trying to represent the interests of the city," said the mayor, acknowledging that the commission cannot take action against the fire chief and other personnel, but that he can advise Cabler and commissioners about his concerns.

Perez withheld comment and referred questions to his attorney, former Mayor Eddie Treviño Jr.

"This is nothing more than a political vendetta and a witch hunt against the fire chief by the mayor and disgruntled members of the fire department," Treviño said.

Firefighters adopted Chief, a female mutt, about two months ago when they found the stray at a resaca and took her to a fire station, but citing health, safety and liability issues, Perez took the dog to the animal shelter after firefighters refused to remove the dog. In response, firefighters filed a police report last week accusing Perez of taking their puppy.

Cabler opined that there seems to be more loyalty to union heads and compadres within the fire department rather than respect for rank. "You might not like the decision, but you need to live with it. Whether they like the person or not, they must respect the rank," Cabler said of firefighters and the military-type structure in the department.

The dog presently lives with Brownsville Firefighters Association President Marco Longoria.

"You earn respect. You do not acquire it. If you acquire rank and if you still act like a fool, you are not going to gain respect," Longoria said.

"The chief (Perez) said there was a city policy that we couldn't have dogs. There was no policy," Longoria said. "We are labor advocates and we call (Perez) on any violation of contract or law or civil service rule and he doesn't like that," Longoria added.

Longoria agreed that filing a police report on the fire chief had been childish and said he was ashamed, but he added that firefighters had only stooped to Perez's level.

"We have to go down to his standards," Longoria said. "I'm ashamed of it, but we're already up to our neck. We might as well grab the bull by the horn and go for it, now that it already hit the fan," the union official said.