Unions question petition signatures

PHARR — Pharr’s police and firefighter unions are asking a judge to invalidate May’s vote that repealed their collective bargaining rights on the grounds that some signatures on the petition used to put the issue on the ballot were collected improperly.

The unions’ newest allegations follow their original complaint that the vote shouldn’t have taken place because a similar vote was held on the issue in 2006. The allegations of improper signatures were filed in the 275th state district court last week and name the city of Pharr and Mayor Leo “Polo” Palacios as defendants.

Pharr voters approved a measure in 2006 to give the unions collective bargaining rights. But on May 12, the city’s residents voted to repeal those rights.

The unions’ latest court filing says 242 signatures were collected on the petition in support of the repeal. It goes on to say that Pharr’s city clerk validated only 220 of those signatures — just two more than the 218 required to get the issue on the ballot.

John Curtis, the lawyer representing the police union, said he believes about a dozen signatures are questionable. If he can get even just a few thrown out, the election would be considered null and void, thus restoring collective bargaining for the unions, he said.Among the irregularities, he said, are signatories who listed their home addresses as post office boxes instead of their actual residences. He also said he has sworn statements from several people saying they signed the petition without being presented information about what they were signing.

Alan Ozuna, a lawyer working for the city on the collective bargaining dispute, said the unions’ complaints question whether the city had the authority to hold the election — not the way the election itself was conducted.

“Technically, none of those issues bear on an election contest,” he said.

Palacios said the city clerk went through the process of vetting improper signatures, which is why several were not validated by the city, and nothing wrong was found with the remaining ones.

The mayor said the dispute about the collective bargaining vote has gone on long enough, and he hopes it will be resolved soon, regardless of the outcome.

“It’s a waste of time and money for the city,” he said.

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Ryan Holeywell covers PSJA and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4446.