Gomez Tantrum Fails with the County Commissioners As Raises Denied

Constable Abelardo Gomez

Charro-attired Abelardo Gomez is riding low in the saddle after County Commissioners rejected his latest attempt to manipulate the Cameron County pay structure in an early morning meeting of the Commissioners Court Thursday.

After his initial attempt for a personal $7,314 annual raise was resoundingly rejected by an 8-1 vote of the Salary Grievance Committee(with County Judge Carlos Cascos serving as a non-voting chairman) on September 10, Gomez made noise about there still being "money in the budget." Shifting gears, he declared he would no longer seek a personal raise, but instead would request raises for the higher ranking deputies on his staff.  Gomez noted that in his absence his department floundered as there was no clearly defined chain of command.  Raises for certain deputies and official titles, he stated, would correct that problem.

The constable proposed that lower ranking deputies would forfeit $500 of their scheduled $1,000 annual raise to create the necessary funds to give four newly created "lieutenants" raises.  Gomez claimed that the concept was not his idea, but something volunteered by his staff.  “They worked it out amongst themselves,” he said at the time. “Everybody agreed to it. This is something that they want.”

One blog commenter disagreed that donating their raises voluntarily to fund supervisors was a grass roots effort:

"Well since the committee didn't give Abelardo his raise, he is now intimidating his deputies into signing a petition to give up $500 of their much deserved $1000 raise to pay his ranking officers more. He says you don't have to sign it, but we all know what will happen if you don't. How is that fair to the deputy's family. The petition is very much real. It was presented to commissioners court today and was tabled for legal review. We ask know not a deputies signed voluntarily. Mr. Gomez don't be a Conrado Cantu. Withdraw the matrix proposal and lift the department's moral. Don't be a dictator."

Sheriff Omar Lucio, JP Sally Gonzalez

Two other disappointed politicos, Sheriff Omar Lucio and Justice of the Peace Sally Gonzalez were also denied raises at the September 10 hearing. Gonzalez wanted an increase of $9,152 while Lucio was asking for $25,000.

The 80 year old Lucio, in particular, seems to blame Judge Cascos for the raise denial.  Speaking of how the grievance committee was selected and voted, he was quoted following the hearing:  “They were selected and that’s how they voted,” he said, implying that Cascos orchestrated the "no" vote.

A Cascos supporter claims he received a call from the Lucio camp after the vote.  "Don't expect any support from Sheriff Lucio in the coming election." The supporter found the remark humorous since, he claimed, Lucio had never supported Cascos in any previous election.