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* Kingsville residents petitioned for the recall of three city commissioners, but the commission voted against holding a recall election.
* The matter may go to court, as Texas law and the Kingsville city charter offer limited guidance on recall procedures.
* If a recall election occurs and is successful, the city would need to hold another election to fill the vacancies.
Residents petitioned the Kingsville City Commission calling for the removal of three commissioners. But last week, the commission declined to call for a recall election.
Now, the matter could head to the courts to decide.
Exactly how the issue will play out, including whether the commissioners will remain in office and whether voters will have their say in a recall election, isn’t yet clear.
Texas law offers little guidance on the recall of local government officials, and the Kingsville city charter leaves questions unanswered.
The dispute in Kingsville officially began in early May, when two individuals, Michelle Lerma and Selina Tijerina, filed affidavits with the city demanding the removal of Commissioners Norma Nelda Alvarez, Hector Hinojosa and Leo Alarcon, alleging unprofessional conduct.
Alvarez is a retired teacher who has served as an elected official at the city and county levels in various capacities since 1994. Hinojosa is a former city of Kingsville accountant, finance director and city manager. Alarcon is a former county clerk and city director of tourism.
Alvarez, Hinojosa and Alarcon could not be reached for comment.
What is a recall?
According to the Kingsville city charter, any member of the City Commission can be removed from office by voters. The only restriction is that a recall petition can’t be filed within certain periods after the official’s election or before the end of their term.
The petition must state the grounds for removal, with examples like incompetency, misconduct or malfeasance, and noncompliance with the provisions outlined in the charter.
According to a 2023 report from the University of Houston Election Lab, 89% of Texas home rule cities studied had language in their charters that allow for the recall of public officials. Most do not indicate the specific grounds for a recall, though some do ask petitioners for some sort of justification. Home rule cities are cities that can set policies within their jurisdiction as long as their charter provisions or ordinances do not violate state or federal law.
The University of Houston Election Lab is a team of undergraduate students led by professor Brandon Rottinghaus. For the recall report, students looked at elections in Texas from 2004 to 2022.
“There are no typical recall elections,” Rottinghaus said. “Each has their own chaotic backstory and application. … Cities have a lot of flexibility in terms of how they handle recalls.”
According to the Kingsville city charter, if a recall election is called, the ballot should ask voters whether the person should be removed from office. This is a yes or no question.
The current recall effort focuses on three commissioners. The recall question on the ballot would be asked for each commissioner individually.
If a majority of votes are against the recall of any individual, that person would continue in office for the remainder of their term. But, if a majority of votes are cast in favor of the recall, that individual would be removed from office.
What’s happening in Kingsville?
Tijerina said that the path that led to her pursuing a recall began more than a year ago. She didn’t like the way things were going in Kingsville, including the departure of the last city manager and the still-pending replacement process. The Kingsville native also had concerns about the handling of city tourism events.
Watching commission meetings from 2024, she felt that commissioners were “bickering like children.”
In her affidavit, Tijerina alleged unprofessional conduct and behavior, neglect of fiscal responsibilities, targeting personnel and neglect of city government policies and procedures.
By June 6, the petition had received 292 certified signatures. Though only a small amount compared to the total number of registered voters in Kingsville, the petition narrowly exceeded the city charter requirement.
In Kingsville, the number of signatures needed for a successful petition must be at least 20% of the number of qualified voters who voted in the most recent city election.
The last city election in Kingsville was held on May 4, 2024, with low voter turnout. Only 1,412 votes were cast. This means that the recall petition needed more than 282 certified signatures from qualified voters to succeed.
When the petition was received by the city, none of the targeted commissioners chose to resign. In this situation, it is “the duty of the City Commission to order an election and fix a date for holding such recall election,” according to the city charter.
But on July 14, Alvarez, Hinojosa and Alarcon voted against an ordinance that would have called a special election for the recall. Mayor Sam Fugate and Commissioner Edna Lopez, the only two officials not mentioned in the recall petition, voted for the election based on the requirements of the city charter but were outnumbered.
During the July 14 meeting, several attendees spoke during public comment in opposition to the recall and in support of the commissioners.
Nothing in the meeting documents or mentioned during the meeting indicates that there were any problems with the validity of the petition.
A draft ordinance included in July 14 documents states that a sufficient number of signatures was certified.
“They complied with our charter,” Fugate said, also saying that it might be worth revising the city charter.
What happens next?
Though it states that it is the duty of the commission to call a recall election, the charter also includes language regarding the failure of the City Commission to call an election.
This clause charges the district judge of Kleberg County, or another judge of a competent jurisdiction, with the duties of calling for a special election.
This raises a few questions.
Fifteen years ago, the Texas Municipal League shared a legal Q&A noting that though some Texas city charters attempt to place the duty of calling an election on a valid recall petition onto either a county or district judge, cities do not have the authority to do this.
Multiple attempts to reach Judge Jack Pulcher of the 105 District Court for comment were unsuccessful.
If a recall election is eventually held and voters do choose to remove one or more commissioners from office, the city would then have to hold another election, this time to fill the vacancy.
In Alice, there have been several recall attempts in recent years. The city of Alice requires 10 voters to initiate a petition for recall, but the number of signatures required only needs to equal at least 5% of voters in the last election or a minimum of 100 signatures.
That’s a lower bar than what was required in Kingsville.
A 2017 recall in Alice resulted in the ouster of two City Council members, leading to a proclamation from the governor giving the city permission for a special emergency election to fill the vacancies so that the council would have enough members to operate.
A successful recall in Kingsville could pose similar problems — the petition targets three members. Kingsville only has four commissioners and one mayor. The city needs at least three members to be present in order to conduct official business.
The next date when the city of Kingsville could conceivably hold an election is Nov. 4. The deadline to order an election for that date is Aug. 18.
But it’s still unclear if or when a recall election might take place in Kingsville.
Tijerina said that she is consulting attorneys and intends to continue pursuing a recall, possibly through a lawsuit.
