FATE, Texas — The political temperature in Fate, TX is getting hotter. A new recall effort, this time targeting four of Fate’s top elected officials, has been launched by local residents who say the city’s leadership crossed a line when they pursued the removal of a fellow council member.
According to statements circulating among Fate residents and online posts from local activist Christopher Rains, petitioners have begun the first formal steps to recall Mayor Andrew Greenberg, Councilman Mark Hatley, Councilman Rick Maneval, and Councilwoman Martha Huffman. The effort comes just months after the same officials were involved in advancing a recall petition against Councilwoman Codi Chinn, whose recall is already scheduled to be on the May 2026 ballot.
According to documents filed with the city, Rains submitted the paperwork on March 9th to start a 30-day window in which the organizers must gather enough signatures from registered voters in Fate to force recall elections against the four officials. For this election, the magic number is 351 verified signatures, according to city guidelines. There is a separate petition for each member.
Rains, who has been active in the local political dispute, announced the development in a public message on Facebook.
“As promised, after several weeks of work, the petitioners affidavits for the Recall of Mayor Greenberg, Councilman Hatley, Councilman Maneval and Councilwoman Huffman have been filed with city officially kicking off the phase two, signature collection,” Rains wrote.
In the past week, organizers have been setting up locations where residents can sign the petitions, while also encouraging interested voters to contact organizers directly through an email account established for the effort.
“As we push forward, we have 30 days to collect signatures from the public,” the statement continued. “We have all witnessed the different things that have taken place since last May. Now we can remind the city council that the job is to work for the city of Fate and its residents, not their own agendas.”
The previous affidavit against Chinn reached the minimum required signatures in less than 7 days. As previously reported by PipkinsReports, officials certified the petition against Chinn, paving the way for voters to decide her political fate during the May 2026 election.
That earlier effort galvanized some of Chinn’s supporters, with some arguing this new recall is a legitimate accountability measure against those who sought to undo an election, while others view the move as political revenge on behalf of a Councilmember who may be recalled for ‘Conduct Unbecoming,’ which critics define as repeatedly insulting constituents on social media.
Pipkins Reports received a copy of the new “Affidavit of Petitioners’ Committee” late Monday afternoon from the city. The documents reveal that the organizer of the petition is Christoper Rains, whose spouse, Ashley Rains, is running for Fate City Council – Place 2, and is also a member of the Petitioners Committee.
There are four separate Affidavits, one for each councilman being recalled. They are essentially identical, with the only exception being that one person signed on as a committee member for all affidavits except for that of Martha Huffman.
In addition to the Rains’, the other committee members are: Chrystal Powers, Les Darlington, Amanda Archer – Damle, Kaylyn Cowan, Mario Ramos Jr., Michael Brandon Vines, Brenda Rekieta, Brittany Otten, Daniel Otten, Nikki Robinson, Avah Helton, Amanda Oldfield, and Juan Avila.
Lance Megyesi signed on for Greenberg, Hatley & Maneval, but not for Huffman.
[Image of petition against Mayor Greenberg. Other petitions are similar as noted above.]
Side Note: In an unusual twist, the Affidavit copy that we received from the City of Fate had no redactions. This is a matter we will need to investigate further, as this action appears to be a change from previous documents we have received. Pipkins Reports has taken the proactive step to redact all persons’ addresses, as we have done previously.
Recall petitions are not unprecedented, but they are uncommon in most Texas municipalities. However, a recall effort critics characterize as retaliatory is so rare that we could not immediately find a comparative example. Texas law allows cities with charter provisions permitting recall to remove elected officials before their terms expire if voters determine the officials have lost the public’s confidence.
In Fate’s case, the situation has become particularly unusual because the political weapon may soon become pointed in both directions.
At this time, it remains to be seen whether the new petition effort will gather the number of signatures required to trigger recall elections. Still, the effort signals that the dispute inside Fate’s political community is far from over.
*This is an ongoing story. Follow Pipkins Reports on Facebook or X for updates.