THE OTHER FIRE BOOT DROPS: SHELDON NAMED FIRE CHIEF. THE BROWNSVILLE METHOD: NO OPPORTUNITY GIVEN TO OTHERS, BEHIND-THE-SCENES POLITICAL SELECTION

By Juan Montoya
How things change, and yet they remain the same.

In the announcement for the new Brownsville Fire Department,  Interim City Manager Michael L. Lopez did not disclose how many candidates he had considered before he chose to keep Interim Fire Chief Jarrett V. Sheldon on as the permanent honcho at the fire house.

Was everyone (or anyone else) given a chance to apply?
Were there any other candidates - here and all over the country - who were considered for the position?

Apparently not, some firefighters say. It was just a matter of inertia. Kind of like the way that former city manager Charlie Cabler operated.

In fact, Sheldon was one of two assistant fire chiefs under fired fire chief Carlos Elizondo. Elizondo had garnered the spot by betraying his firefighters union and hand-picking a union board that voted to give away all the gains that previous firefighters had earned through tough negotiating such as the "me-too" clause that stated that firefighters would get any benefits (and salary increases) that their police brothers got.

People got fired, reprimanded and blackballed over such issues, but they took it all in stride so that future firefighters (and their families) would enjoy better benefits.

Elizondo was only too glad to give that all away in return for the chief's badge. And the new contract that was approved by the puppet board also included a clause that allowed the chief to have two assistant chiefs. One, Sheldon, actually had been an officer in the department. The other, and this is the unbelievable part, could be any Joe off the street, experience, of lack thereof, not withstanding.

That was Ernie Estrada, a Cabler favorite who was thick with construction contractors who somehow found their way to Cabler's home to lend a hand in the remodeling.

That, according to people who heard Cabler's daughter during a rant at a local watering hole. That and the fact that Ernie liked to cook paella with Charlie and Carlos got him the spot.

Before too long, Elizondo and Estrada were steering lucrative patient transfers to a private ambulance service to the detriment of the city and EMS finances. Morale was low. Estrada had been plucked from the bottom of the department barrel because of his pal Cabler. Seasoned firefighters, including other officers, had to put up with Estrada, a petty tyrant who expected firefighters to genuflect at his passing shadow.

Where does Sheldon fit in?
He was there when all this was happening and didn't say a word. It was only until the city's audit and oversight committee started poking around the department's shenanigans that the scheme began to unravel. Did Sheldon rat out on Elizondo and Estrada with city honchos to ingratiate himself to the administrators and bosses just as the first defendant to turn state's evidence will get the immunity?

Was it history repeated; was the quid-pro-quo in the making just as the first time with Elizondo it happened as a tragedy, the second with Sheldon a farce?

For a city commission and administration who has promised transparency and observance to process to name someone chief without giving anyone else a chance to compete for the spot says a lot of how things have changed and yet remain the same. 

"Jarrett V. Sheldon has fulfilled the role of Fire Chief with a strong commitment to the public safety of the residents of Brownsville,” said Lopez intoned announcing Sheldon's appointment.

Sheldon joined the department in Aug. 2001 as a probationary firefighter. During his career he has been promoted to fire lieutenant and deputy fire chief (under Elizondo). Oh, and his father also happens to be the Los Fresnos Fire Marshal.

Sheldon remained after Elizondo was suspended without pay and then fired from the department following his arrest on felony charges. Ernie Estrada, was demoted to basic firefighter after Elizondo left and mousy little Sheldon scurried from his hole and picked up the pieces.