SHELDON: TAKE THIS FIREFIGHTERS AND CITY RESIDENTS

By Juan Montoya

As we have said previously on these cyberpages, things change, and in changing, they seem to remain the same.

it's not that long ago that former Brownsville Fire Department Chief Carlos Elizondo was strutting in his starched chief uniform flaunting his power and literally flipping the finger at the firefighters' union and his critics.

And when he was chief he had two assistants. One was Ernie Estrada, who through a manipulated union contract was able to be appointed asst. chief because he had connections with city manager Charlie Cabler. The other was the guy shooting the finger above,  Jarrett V. Sheldon.

Interim City Manager Michael L. Lopez appointed Sheldon (who himself was interim fire chief) as the new department chief. Lopez did not disclose what process he used to select Sheldon chief. There was no advertising of the position, no one was allowed to apply, and there were no interviews. The interim manager simply chose the interim chief and that was that.

But the whole firehouse is ablaze with indignation at the arbitrary selection of Sheldon as the new boss. They say that Lopez violated the city's personnel general provisions when he failed "to provide fair and equal employment opportunity for qualified persons" and to satisfy the objective to "promote pride and high morale among City of Brownsville employees by fostering good working relationships."

Specifically, they charge Lopez violated city policy (Chapter 2, Section 201) on appointments to job positions when he he did not make the fire chief appointment "based on the qualifications of applicants as ascertained through fair and practical selection methods, which may include testing of job knowledge, skills and abilities."

More seriously, they charge that his cozy relationship with a vendor of fire trucks – and his recommendation of specs for two new fire engines and one aerial ladder truck – seem to have been tailored through collusion to the specs recommended by the vendor of Metro Fire Apparatus. The representative of that company is a frequent visitor to the fire department administrative office and all the top honchos there have Metro Fire Yeti thermal cups and gimme caps.

That representative is Jesse Breedlove, a one-time volunteer to the Los Fresnos Volunteer Fire Department who manages his family's Chachalaca Bend Inn there. Breedlove has close ties with Los Fresnos town judge Gene Daniels and – more importantly – Los Fresnos Fire Marshal Geronimo Sheldon, Jarrett's father. All three are constant visitors to the BFD's administrative offices and have a free run of the firehouse.

This type of fraternizing with vendor sis clearly prohibited in the city's policy manual prohibiting contact by vendors with city officials and employees and its statement of non-collusion in preparing bids.

During a recent city meeting, Sheldon told commissioners that the specs for the new engines and aerial ladder had been sent out for bids, but failed to mention that the specs coincidentally are the same for the equipment handled by Breedlove and Metro Fire Apparatus. Using them, it almost guarantees that Metro Fire will get the winning bid

Normally, all fire apparatus bought by the city are to the specifications of the department making the purchase to fit their needs. In this case, if the purchases for Metro Fire go Apparatus go through, th city will end up with a fire truck that does not fit in the station stalls it was meant for. As a result, the city will have to spend more taxpayer money to accommodate the longer and taller truck in the Old Alice Street, Ebony Heights and Station 4 engine stall doors.

The specs, apparently, were for the stock Metro Fire Apparatus sells, and not those for the needs of the City of Brownsville. 

Rewind this scene to 1993 when then-city manager demoted fire chief Desi Najera for doing the very same thing Sheldon is doing now. AT the time, Najera bid out for fire trucks with specs that included the mud flaps for vendor EONE. Of course, no other vendors would have the flaps specified by the BFD. Now Sheldon is specifying equipment for bids that fit the vendor, and not the fire stations of the city of Brownsville. 

The relationship between the FD honchos and this vendor is even cozier. Lt. Joel Rodriguez, a relative of assistant chief Cesar Pedraza, assigned to Station 4, is also employed as a part-time assistant to Metro Fire Apparatus vendor Breedlove. And Sheldon himself moonlights with his father (the Los Fresnos Fire Marshal) and performs fire inspections there for him because he is too old to do them himself.

And need we remind our readers that Sheldon and Pedraza are part of the Elizondo regime that has brought so much discredit to the department? 

Lopez should have had the common courtesy of allowing the new city manager to choose the fire chief, as well as the new police chief. After all, the city is spending $150,000 to find a city manager as we speak.

Is the city commission and residents willing to allow this brazen disregard for the welfare of the city – and to the the personal benefit of vendors and fire department administrators – and bear the insult with a smile?