A former Balch Springs advisory board member removed for her social media posts is now leading an effort to recall newly reelected Place 3 City Council member Paula Garcia.
Jess Reaka filed an affidavit Wednesday to begin a petition to recall Garcia, citing a “pattern of misconduct, abuse of office, and failure to represent the public interest.”
“[Residents] are afraid of doing something wrong around them to garner their ire so that they retaliate," Reaka told KERA. “And there are certain people on this council that are quite famous for retaliating, and Garcia is one of them.”
Reaka, who does not live in Garcia’s district, was removed from her positions on the Park and Recreation Advisory Board and the Flood and Drainage Committee earlier this year under the city’s new social media policy that prohibits board members from speaking out against the city.
Garcia was among the majority of city council members who voted to remove Reaka, whose partner is Place 4 City Council member Vincent Gabriel.
Tiffany James, who lives in Garcia’s district, is one of five people who signed the affidavit to begin the recall petition process. She pointed to Reaka’s removal as a reason she got involved in the effort.
“I thought, OK, so it just really sounds like whoever is trying to speak up or speak out about things that are being done incorrectly, they're kind of being silenced,” James said.
She also cited Garcia’s use of a racial slur during a Jan. 27 city council meeting. Garcia at the time said former City Council member Angela Singletary had used the word in a conversation. Singletary denied the allegations on social media.
Garcia did not respond to multiple requests and attempts to speak to her for this story.
Deborah Culberson, a Place 3 resident, said efforts to remove Garcia are counterproductive to helping the community.
"I know what the person that I voted for will do for the community at home,” Culberson said. “I don't know nothing about these people. We don't do buddy systems here. We go about what's right and what's fair. We are her constituents.”
After the city secretary confirms receipt of the affidavit, city ordinance states the group has 30 days to gather “the signatures of qualified voters equal in number to no fewer than fifty percent (50%) of the qualified voters who voted on the date of the last election for that district.”
Garcia was reelected to a third term on the city council in the May 3 election, winning 62 of 108 votes.
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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