Woman Says Recall Organizers Tricked Her Into Signing

Three women said they were deceived by the recall group trying to oust the mayor and city representatives Susie Byrd and Steve Ortega. Petitioners deny that.

Dolores Loya said she and her neighbors showed up to a Walgreens in the Lower Valley, on Yarbrough and North Loop to sign what they thought was a no recall petition.

“I signed it for Steve,” said Esperanza Beltran, who also went to the Walgreens.

She said on Friday, she received a phone call on her home phone from a man who identified himself as Fernando Hernandez, who told her they’d be gathering signatures ‘in support of Steve Ortega’ at the Walgreens parking lot the next day.

Beltran showed up to the Walgreens and signed. While there, she said she even boasted about her city rep. to what she described as tight lipped petition organizers. “I said ‘Oh I’m very happy because Steve is wonderful, helped us a lot.”

Later, Loya went to sign the petition and while in line, she said she tried to make sure it was in support of Ortega.

“I asked her twice and twice she (petition organizer) said this is the no recall and I specifically said no recall and she said yes,” Loya told ABC-7.

The petition was to oust Ortega out of office and Loya said she only noticed that when it was her turn to sign.

Recall organizer Nacho Padilla, who coincidentally used to be the city representative for the district Ortega now serves, said he doubts that’s true.

“Unless she (Loya) has a recording of the person who told her that, that person (Loya) can fabricate all that,” said Padilla.

He said it’s impossible to mistake the recall petition, which has the words ‘RECALL PETITION’ on top of every sheet for signatures.

“It’s like saying that you went and signed to buy a car and it was actually signing to sell a car, you know, that’s ridiculous. At the end, when you’re going to sign something, you read it,” said Padilla.

What about the phone call Beltran got? We called the number, asked if it was Fernando Hernandez’s phone.

A woman said “”well yes, are you calling the number that’s on your answering machine?””

She referred us to Padilla, who said all their calls are automated and, to his knowledge, there’s no Fernando Hernandez working for them.

“I think it shows the desperation of the other side, I think it’s unfortunate and I think they should flip through their bible and see what it says about bearing false witness,” said Steve Ortega, when ABC-7 asked his thoughts on the women’s allegations.

“It’s all very simple, nobody’s cheating,” said Padilla.

Petitioners have until Thursday to turn in the signatures. The religious group El Paso for Traditional Family Values started the recall efforts because of city council’s vote to overturn a voter-approved ordinance and provide health insurance for gay and unwed partners of city employees.

Byrd, Ortega and Mayor John Cook said they voted to restore the benefits because the ordinance, written and put on the ballot by the religious group, was so vague, it would have stripped the health insurance of 200 unintended people.