And we thought things would get better at the Brownsville Fire Department after disgraced fire chief Carlos Elizondo was jettisoned by the city administration.
Well, guess again.
Those of us who are still here are looking at some of the hiring practices of the "new" chief Jarrett Sheldon and detect a faintly similar pattern as under the Elizondo regime.
For example, the son of 30-year firefighter veteran Juan Raul Martinez got passed over the eligibility list when he came in 24th and was replaced by another applicant who scored #27. Could it be that Juan Raul Martinez Jr got passed over by Kenneth Breaux Jr, who just happens to be a relative of one of the administrative brass there. It wouldn't be because he's a relative of Acting Training Chief Edward Guerrero, would it? Nahhh.
Then why was Martinez served with a certified letter only after the eligibility list had expired Jan. 21 even though the letter was dated Jan. 11 and it wasn't until Jan. 23rd that Martinez received it? Previously, Martinez had been told by interim chief Sheldon that he was disqualified because he was tardy to an orientation meeting set for the candidates who had passed the physical agility exam. Yet, we know he had been told by the administrative secretary to show up at 11 a.m. He showed up early and to his surprise, he was late when he arrived at 10:07 a.m. He tried to explain to no avail and was sent on his way.
Then, in the certified letter, he was told that he was disqualified as a result of some negative results of his background check without any further explanation. He filed for a civil service commission hearing but that hasn't been scheduled. Yet the new entry level test has already been posted for March. Funny how things work. In the posting, Martinez is already disqualified because of a two-year requirement if he applied and was disqualified previously. This despite the fact that the administration is required to give a sufficient reason for him being passed over.
Not only has Martinez fallen victim to Sheldon's compadrismo, but 10 other candidates were skipped over to accommodate #18 Jose Cisneros, the son of a City of Brownsville employee who works at the Brownsville South padre Island International Airport who happens to be a longtime friend of former deputy chief David Hinojosa. Hinojosa, by the way, just happens to be the good buddy of Sheldon's father. Draw your own conclusions from that.
Seems like it's business as usual at the old Fire Department.