San Benito says recall petition lacked required signatures

SAN BENITO — A citizens’ petition failed to collect enough signatures to request the city to order an election aimed at recalling the mayor and commissioners, City Manager Fred Sandoval said Tuesday.

The city’s petition review was conducted by attorney Robert Drinkard of the Harlingen-based law firm of Denton, Navarro, Rodriguez, Bernal, Santee and Zech, he said.

“The petition did not meet the minimum number of signatures required by the charter to be accepted,” Sandoval said Tuesday.

Recall petitions “must be signed by a minimum of 35%, or 500, whichever is greater, of those voters who actually voted in the election when the elective officer was last elected to his or her current office,” the City Charter states.

Mayor Rick Guerra and the city’s five commissioners won office in staggered elections held in 2023 and 2024.

To meet the charter’s benchmark, the petition required 726 signatures, or 35% of voters who cast ballots in the 2023, and 713 signatures, or 35% of voters who cast ballots in the 2024 election, Sandoval said.

The petition fell short with less than 350 signatures collected requesting the recall of Guerra and each of the five commissioners, he said.

“Ninety-nine percent of the people of San Benito support the mayor and commissioners based on the number of people who signed the petition,” Sandoval said.

In May 2023, Guerra won election in a landslide, pulling 1,340 votes, defeating two opponents who respectfully drew 670 votes and 143 votes.

“We will continue to serve as we were elected to do and we invite citizens to share their ideas on how we can improve San Benito together,” Guerra said in a news release. “As your elected mayor and city commission, chosen by the majority to serve this community, we’ve remained committed to progress and staying focused on the positive.”

On Oct. 18, Wayne Dolcefino, owner of Dolcefino Media in Houston, announced the petition drive aimed at requesting a recall election during an event that included former City Commissioner Carol Lynn Sanchez.

In a news release, Dolcefino, who has declined to disclose who hired him to become involved in the city’s politics, said residents participating in the petition drive believed they had collected the required number of signatures.

“Citizens who conducted the petition drive say they received the required number of signatures, and a special election should have already been called,” he said.

Dolcefino also questioned the reason officials didn’t present the petition to Remi Garza, Cameron County’s elections administrator, so he could verify it.

“The city asked us if we could assist them in verifying the registration, status and participation in the questioned elections,” Garza said Tuesday. “We are ready to provide assistance but the city hasn’t moved forward to that part of the review.”

Meanwhile, Dolcefino said Bryan Rivera, president of operations for Texas Hometown Solutions, a consulting firm based on Leander, helped organize the petition drive.

“Even the most corrupt cities who fight recall drives at least verify the signatures of the voters as part of their review,” Rivera states in Dolcefino’s news release, adding, “San Benito must detail the specific reasons in writing for rejecting the petitions immediately. The voters of San Benito deserve that.”

At City Hall, Sandoval said Drinkard’s determination of the petition’s insufficient numbers of signatures led officials to close the process.

“The city has never rejected the petition,” Sandoval said. “The city’s official stance is that the signatures submitted did not meet the requirement.”

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