BREAKING NEWS: ELIZONDO OUT AS F.D. CHIEF, ESTRADA OUT; JARRETT SHELDON NAMED INTERIM CHIEF PENDING SEARCH

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

It took slightly longer than expected for City of Brownsville Manager Charlie Cabler to do it but when it could no longer be avoided he handed Brownsville Fire Department Chief Carlos Elizondo and his Ass. Chief Ernie Estrada their walking papers and demoted them to their previous positions.

The extent to the demotions are still sketchy, but City Hall sources say that this morning Cabler handed Elizondo a letter demoting him to his former position as a lieutenant on the force. Estrada, who Elizondo appointed as one of his assistant chiefs under a concession from the labor agreement with the Brownsville Firefighters Association #970, automatically leaves with his boss.

The announcement was made in an official press release on the city's website. It states:

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (September 7, 2017) – The City of Brownsville announces the appointment of Deputy Fire Chief Jarrett V. Sheldon to Interim Fire Chief for the Brownsville Fire Department.

Beginning Thursday, September 7, 2017, Sheldon will succeed Fire Chief Carlos Elizondo, who will continue to serve with the Brownsville Fire Department as Fire Lieutenant.

Sheldon first joined the Brownsville Fire Department in August 2001 as a Probationary Firefighter. In December 2013, Sheldon was promoted to Fire Lieutenant prior to serving as Deputy Fire Chief beginning in October 2016."
It is not clear whether Elizondo's demotion also includes a directive that he follow the city personnel policy manual's prohibition of serving on elected positions within the city's jurisdiction. Elizondo is a trustee on the Brownsville Independent School District.

The city's personnel policy manual's Section 702: Political Activity states that:
"B. Specifically, City Employees may not engage in the following activities:

4. Hold an elective City office or hold an elective or appointive office in any other jurisdiction where service would constitute a direct conflict of interest with City employment, with or without remuneration. Upon assuming such office, an Employee shall resign or shall be dismissed for cause upon failure to do so."

City sources say that during the past few days, BISD general counsel Baltazar Salazar has interceded on Elizondo's behalf to convince Cabler to allow him to remain on the BISD board. It is unclear whether Elizondo's demotion includes that he follow the city's personnel policy manual.

Calls for Elizondo's removal started after an audit of the department uncovered more than 70 apparent violations of city policy, a few of them directly linked to Elizondo. The audit has not been released. And firefighters have complained that Estrada, hired as an administrative assistant to Elizondo, had taken on a supervisory role over more experienced officers and attempted to pull rank on incident commanders at fire scenes.

Elizondo is also under investigation by the Cameron County District Attorney's Office on a complaint by the firefighters association of Theft by a Public Official after they filed a report with the Brownsville Police Department alleging he stole $8,000 or more from their political action committee account.

Estrada was promoted from firefighter directly to assistant chief without ever having held an officer's position. He served at the pleasure of the chief and will now return to the position he held before Elizondo appointed him (firefighter).