New petition drive calls for mayor's ouster

LA MARQUE — The mayor of La Marque faces a possible recall election after a former city councilman’s wife filed a recall affidavit Monday.

That recall request comes a few days after a group of residents filed for the recall of three council members who pushed through a contract for the city manager that the mayor opposes.

There is now a possibility that every single member of the city council and the mayor could be forced out of office in May. Mayor pro tem Keith Bell’s seat is the subject to a special election in May because of his recent unsuccessful run for justice of the peace.

Maggie Manuel, the wife of former La Marque Councilman Sonny Manuel, filed the recall affidavit against Mayor Geraldine Sam.

Sam, who was elected in May, has been fighting a contract with City Manager Eric Gage approved by council in a split vote two weeks ago.

Sam contends the contract obligated the city to too much money should Gage be fired. She also argued the agreement violated the city’s charter.

“If she wants to recall me for doing my job, then so be it,” Sam said. “I only requested that this contract be looked at (by the city attorney) because it was not good for the citizens of La Marque.”

Last week, the city attorney issued an opinion that said several provisions in the contract ran afoul of the city’s charter.

In her affidavit, Manuel claims the mayor “clearly shows a lack of leadership abilities required to run a city government” and “has consistently demonstrated a lack of governmental, as well as professional experience necessary to run a city government.”

Just as with the recall efforts against council members Larry Mann, Connie Trube and Deanie Barrett, Manuel will have 30 days to gather enough signatures to force a recall election.

In the case of a mayoral recall, 490 signatures of registered La Marque voters would be needed to force a recall, City Clerk Lydia Garcia said.

If a petition is successful, that does not mean the targeted official is out of office. Getting the signatures simply puts the issue on a ballot.

Voters would decide whether the officials would be forced out.

If a recall vote is successful, a special election would be called to fill the seat.

Bell’s District A seat is the subject of a special election because of his unsuccessful run for justice of the peace.

The run for elected office required him to vacate his seat. Bell has said he plans on running for his council seat in a special election.

Recall efforts are not a new concept in La Marque.

Trube was the leader of one failed and one successful recall effort in La Marque. A drive to recall James Osteen failed in 2005. Lloyd Criss was recalled in 2001.