Girding for a brand new mayor within the coming yr, some members of the San Antonio Metropolis Council are attempting to insulate town’s main coverage initiatives from a shift in administration.
At a particular assembly on Wednesday, metropolis employees was requested to arrange plans that will give the council extra affect over who serves on boards and commissions overseeing reasonably priced housing, transit and the city-owned utilities, San Antonio Water System and CPS Vitality.
Whereas a few of these positions are dictated by state legislation, others have traditionally been appointed by the mayor.
Particularly, roughly half of the members of town’s Housing Fee and Housing Authority are mayoral appointees, as set by metropolis ordinance.
Council is predicted to evaluate the primary draft of a plan to provide them extra affect over these appointments earlier than the top of the yr, permitting members to probably approve the mandatory coverage modifications earlier than a brand new mayor is sworn in subsequent June.
“I fear that the subsequent mayor is just not going to be considerate by way of variety, by way of expertise [and] background… and we’re operating out of time earlier than that subsequent mayor is seated,” Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2) stated at Wednesday’s assembly. “It could be any individual from this council, it could not, and we’ve to arrange for all circumstances.”
Up to now at the very least 15 candidates have expressed curiosity in operating for mayor. Along with 4 sitting council members, the record features a former appointee of Gov. Greg Abbott, Rolando Pablos, and a conservative former Northside councilman, Clayton Perry.
In a nod to the potential influence board modifications might have on the companies, attorneys for SAWS, CPS Vitality and VIA Metropolitan Transit had been all in attendance at Wednesday’s assembly.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who has expressed his personal considerations in regards to the subsequent mayor altering route on reasonably priced housing and public transit initiatives, has proven little curiosity in handing over extra energy to the council members.
The dialogue about mayoral appointments was solely made doable after council members Teri Castillo (D5), Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6) and Marc Whyte (D10) filed a three-signature memo to drive a gathering on the problem, and Nirenberg kicked off the dialog by making his case for protecting the method the identical.
“Authorities processes are at all times truthful sport for reexamination to make sure they proceed to satisfy the group’s wants,” Nirenberg stated. “However because it pertains to our authority to vary the way in which a few of these committees are appointed, in lots of instances, we don’t have that energy.”
However many council members disagreed.
Castillo, who began her profession as a housing organizer, pointed to the altering dynamics of the U.S. Division of Housing and City Improvement below numerous presidential administrations as a cause to hunt as a lot coverage consistency as doable on the native stage.
Below Nirenberg’s tenure, town has invested closely in reasonably priced housing, even together with cash for it within the metropolis’s bond program.
Castillo instructed the council might create a pre-approved record of candidates for numerous boards and commissions, or institute a course of that will enable the council to display screen the subsequent mayor’s appointees, to assist preserve such methods in movement.
“Housing, transportation are the highest points that residents proceed to spotlight [in recent budget surveys],” Castillo stated. “We now have a duty to take a seat with the resumes and be sure that the parents which are being appointed to characterize and make these powerful choices are in alignment with the objectives that town of San Antonio has established.”
Cabello Havrda stated the council ought to set “clear public standards for what we’re in search of in” high-level board and fee members, and think about public boards to incorporate group enter.
Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7) instructed placing candidates for citywide appointments by an interview course of with the complete council.
“I do assume that we should always have extra oversight into the nomination course of for candidates,” she stated. “I believe that after we’re listening to straight from residents what’s impacting them, we all know the powerful inquiries to ask.”
