I Was Wrong About the Vote Defeating the Ordinance Change

Viewing a re-broadcast of the July 2 City Commission meeting, I noticed that Ramiro Gonzalez from the Planning Department explained that, in the case of a citizen petition involving an ordinance variation, 7 votes were needed to rule on the proposed change.  This means that my observation this Mean Mister Brownsville article published July 4 was incorrect:

"During the vote, three commissioners raised their hands to vote "no".  Martinez glanced toward Debbie Portillo, but she hesitated.  Martinez counted 3  "nays," then raised his hand and said:  "We have four against.  The item is defeated."

If a replay of the tape shows that it happened in that way, it may have been an illegal vote.  Martinez is only to vote in the case of ties. so there is an obvious need to make certain all votes or abstentions are noted before he proceeds to break the tie." 

So, Mayor Martinez was completely correct in voting on this issue as it required 7 votes.