Recall Efforts Halted; Mayor Obtains Temporary Restraining Order

A judge has ordered that petitioners seeking to oust the mayor and two city representatives from office have to immediately cease their efforts after Mayor John Cook filed for and obtained a temporary restraining order against the group.

The legal document immediately orders “El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values” (EPFTFV) to stop gathering signatures, circulating the petition and promoting or advertising their cause on any form of social media, including Facebook.

It also prohibits the city clerk from accepting any signatures, records, or filings from the group or its proponents.

Judge Javier Alvarez wants to evaluate whether the group has broken any laws by using churches for political purposes.

The temporary restraining order also requires EPFTFV to turn in the original recall petitions for all three elected officials to the court by 2:00 p.m. Wednesday.

The hearing is scheduled for September 26 and a mediation attempt is scheduled on the 15th.

In the document, Cook’s attorney alleges Brown used his church, Word of Life Church, which is registered as a non-profit corporation with the Texas Secretary of State, as a place to gather signatures and further used his ministry website, Tom Brown Ministries to advertise the gathering of the signatures.

The temporary restraining order states Tom Brown Ministries is “interchangeable with, the same as, or the alter ego of Word of Life Church… and communicates to the public on behalf of Word of Life Church.”

The document states that Brown, according to a media report, announced his intention to recall Cook and the city representatives from the “pulpit of Word of Life Church, where he is Founder and Pastor, as well as President.”

Brown did not return ABC-7’s phone calls on Tuesday, but in the past, has maintained he did nothing wrong. He insists the law prohibits churches from supporting a political candidate, not trying to oust an elected official.

“The rules are clear that it is impermissible for a house of worship that has taken a tax-advantaged status under Texas law, or a Texas for-profit corporation, to circulate or submit petitions to call a recall election or to make contributions in connection with a recall election,” the restraining order against Brown states.

The Texas Legislature also defines what is prohibited in recall elections. “A corporation or labor organization may not make a political contribution in connection with a recall election, including the circulation and submission of a petition to call and election.” Such is written in the Texas Election Code, 253.094, according to the restraining order.

During Tuesday’s regular city council meeting, Brown warned council he’d take his own legal actions if recall efforts were thwarted.

“If the mayor or the city council tries some other tactic to not allow the signatures to be counted, then you leave me with no option but to organize the largest massive lawsuit in the city of El Paso. I will gather all of the petitioners who felt like their rights have been infringed upon and we will all individually sue the mayor or any representative that tries to hinder their signature from being counted,” Brown said, during the public comment portion of the council meeting.

Mayor Cook, was out of town Tuesday during the time this story was written, but arrived back in El Paso that evening, and spoke to an ABC-7 crew. This story will be updated with his comments.

“Pastor Brown’s words registered zero with me in terms of their weight. I don’t take him seriously”, said City Rep. Steve Ortega, when asked to respond to Brown’s warnings.

Ortega, who is not a filing party in the restraining order, said the mayor has the right to pursue legal recourse if there is a reason to believe the petitioners have broken the law.

“I’ve certainly received phone calls from concerned constituents saying that the church is being used to aid in the circulation of the petitions, that they’re being lied to in terms of what they’re signing, and that they’re taking place at corporations, whether it’d be Walgreens or Albertson’s,” said Ortega.

Ignacio Padilla, another recall organizer has said the group has not lied to people signing the petition. “At the end, when you’re going to sign something, you read it,” he told ABC-7 on Saturday.

The restraining order states that because Brown’s website promotes Word Of Life activities, it serves as the church’s website and the IRS regulates that if a tax-exempt corporation “posts something on its website that favors or opposes a candidate for public office, the organization will be treated the same as if it distributed printed material, oral statements or broadcasts that favored or posed a candidate.”

The document states Brown has advertised the recall in his capacity as Pastor of Word Of Life Church, by soliciting the circulation of the recall petitions via twitter using the username “pastortombrown.”

Brown’s ministry website, advised readers that the recall petitions would be available at other nonprofit and regular corporations, including Jesus Chapel, Centro Vida Life Center and Arves Automotive, according to the temporary restraining order.

“The Plaintiff (Mayor Cook) wholeheartedly endorses the rights of citizens to petition their government, including the ability to recall and remove from office elected officials, the right to petition for a recall ensures that incompetent or unethical leaders can be removed from office,” states the document.

It goes on to state recall efforts should not be used “simply to punish an official for a disappointing vote. Cook’s attorney argues the defendants seek to remove officials “…not on the grounds of violation of voters’ rights, but solely on the basis that they do not want health benefits for unmarried partners…”

Brown believes the voters’ will was trampled when Cook, Ortega and Byrd voted to continue to provide health insurance for gay and unwed partners of city employees, overturning a voter approved ordinance. “The people’s right to have their signature count is paramount right now, and we will make sure they have their rights protected,” the pastor told city council on Tuesday.

The elected officials said they voted to continue the insurance because the vague ordinance, written by Brown’s group, would have discontinued health benefits for about 200 unintended city employees.

“As a civil rights leader, I want to make sure that every signature gets to count,” Brown told city leaders.

Ortega said “history will judge Tom Brown very harshly, he is on the wrong side of this”, referring to Brown’s efforts to prevent domestic partners from receiving health insurance.

According to the restraining order, tax-payers would have to pay ‘dearly’ for elections as a result of the recall effort.

The filing states a recall election can’t be held during the March (primaries) or November (general election) of 2012. It would have to be a special election with, according to the law, nothing else on the ballot and would be held in May 2012. If the recall is successful, the election to replace the three recalled officials would happen in September 2012. Then, there could be a runoff. The same offices would be up for election May 2013.

“The estimated cost of the special elections is likely between $250 and $500,000”, states the document.

The mayor is also requesting that if wrongdoing is uncovered by the petitioners, that his attorneys’ fees and costs for filing the temporary restraining order be compensated.

The El Paso District Attorney’s Office is investigating Brown for allegations that the recall effort may have received illegal donations from a corporation.