Pastor Tom Brown Says Congregation ‘Scared’ Of Speaking Out About Recall

It was business as usual for most of the day at the Word of Life Church, until the end of their service at 9 a.m.

That’s when Pastor Tom Brown stood up and talked about an affidavit his lawyers plan to send to the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday. In it, those who signed it, stated that they are afraid to speak in public about the recall of City-elected officials out of fear that they’ll be arrested or have liability within a civil court.

On the pulpit, he spoke about a culture of fear that has hit his congregation in the wake of the recall election being overturned earlier this month.

“Our congregation is scared,” Brown said. “They feel like they’re going to be arrested, like they’ll be thrown into prison, or at least have civil lawsuits leveled against them.”

Mayor John Cook said that fear is frivolous. He even said he believes Brown is stirring up the public.

“Tom Brown is misleading people. He’s quite aware that the only people that are liable are the officer, or directors, of the corporation as the Word of Life Church,” Cook said.

Cook said he believes that Brown is selling the issue as a free speech issue. He contends the issue has always boiled down to legal issues tied to the Texas election code. Right or wrong, the parishioners who attend Word of Life Church are upset that their voices weren’t heard after a ruling on the recall election hearing.

“I hope what I do stands for those who aren’t signing this petition, to make sure that when it goes to the state court they look at us as voters and recognize and honor our vote,” said Jerry Smith, a member of Word of Life Church.

The appeals court, made up of Chief Justice Ann Crawford McClure, Justice Guadalupe Rivera, and Justice Chris Antcliff, ruled unanimously on February 20 that petitioners broke the Texas Election Code by not re-purposing their political action committee – El Pasoans For Traditional Family Values – for the recall efforts.

Originally, El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values was classified as a PAC for the 2010 ballot initiative meant to take away the health insurance of gay and unwed partners of city employees, not as a recall group.

Brown started the recall efforts because Cook, City Rep. Susie Byrd and City Rep. Steve Ortega did not implement a November 2010 voter-approved ordinance to take away the health insurance of gay and unmarried partners of city employees.

The way city attorneys interpreted the voter-approved initiative, more than 100 unintended people would also lose their health insurance if the vaguely-worded ordinance would have taken effect. The ordinance was written by El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values, the same group trying to recall the mayor.

The group wrote the ordinance without the help of an attorney after El Paso City Council extended health benefits to 19 city domestic partners. Ordinance supporters said they did not want their tax dollars funding the health benefits of unmarried couples and people in homosexual relationships, which some believe are an abomination to God.

The health benefits are not completely tax-payer funded. City employees also pay for their insurance.

Cook’s lawyer calls this case an interlocutory appeal, meaning Judge Javier Alvarez made a ruling before the case was over. For the Supreme Court to hear that, there would have to be dissent from the three justices on the appeals court. That is not the case here because the decision was unanimous.

There would also have to be a conflicting opinion from another appeals court. ABC-7 couldn’t find one.

However, the state Supreme Court has ultimate discretion when deciding what cases to take on. If it decides the petitioners’ case has statewide importance, they may hear it.