For at least the last decade, Cameron County Justice of the Peace Precinct 2, Place 1, Linda Salazar has willfully lied to the people.
And because of that lie, the taxpayers of the county have been paying one of her employees for years against the county's nepotism guidelines.
Every two weeks, Salazar signs something called the "Custom Payroll exception Worksheet" where, under oath, she swears that "all department and/elected official employees listed here have worked the time indicated and that budgeted funds are available for each position listed.
"I further certify that none of the employees listed heron are related to me within the degree by consanguinity or by second degree by affinity."
Yet, Salazar has known all along that the employee number 115608, Beatriz Muñivez is her sister, which falls within the prohibition of the county's policies on nepotism. Muñivez may be Salazar's adopted sister, but her sister nonetheless. Before she was a Salazar, Linda was a Cortez, and before that, her maiden name was Muñivez, same as her sister Beatriz, her employee.
This has been common knowledge in county circles for years, but, because of her politically vindictive nature, no one has dared raise the issue before the county commissioners court. Neither has the Cameron County District Attorney or the Human resources Department.
We have learned that back in 1994 when she applied and was hired, she was related to a county employee or official. despite swearing under oath that she was not. That official was none other than her half sister Salazar.The Cameron County Personnel Policy under section 3.05 manual states unequivocally that "no person may be hired who is related within the second degree by affinity (marriage or within the third degree by consanguinity (blood) to any member of the Commissioners’ Court, to a County official who appoints him or her to the position, or to any employee who would directly supervise his or her job performance."
We have heard that investigators for the Texas Judicial Commission are in town today to interview people about a complaint filed against the portly JP on another issue: deliberately choosing to sit on cases involving her son when the law requires her to recuse herself from any case where she has a relationship with the defendant.In every instance she has either dismissed the cases against him – claiming that it was the county prosecutor who decided not to prosecute – or handing out a token $20 fine for a traffic citation.
In one of the cases filed this year, she has sat on a small claims case filed last April where a collection company has tried to collect on more than $2,300 he owes on on a Walmart credit card. By coincidence, the case – like three others before – conveniently landed in her court.
The proposed default order sent by the company's attorneys remains blank and unsigned awaiting her signature.
But that's not all. Salazar is pushing her son– Mark Anthony Cortez – to get elected as a trustee of the Brownsville Independent School District for Place 1, the position now held by Cesar Lopez.
That's mom and baby son in the graphic at right after filling out the candidate application for the BISD. Is Linda, wearing her JP shirt, also lending the weight of her office and endorsing a political candidate as a judge, another no-no according to the judicial canons?
In case the judicial commission investigators are reading this, in the abeyance of local elected officials and prosecutors to address this obvious violations, please feel free to contact this blog at rrunrrun@gmail.com if you want to have documented proof of this egregiously corrupt behavior by this official.