Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, who once served as former Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s chief of staff, won the District 8 runoff in June with 575 of the vote. Credit: Facebook / Ivalis Meza Gonzalez
The DWI charge picked up last week by first-term District 8 City Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez was her second in 15 years, according to court documents obtained by the Current.

Gonzalez received her first DWI charge June 25, 2010 when she was 28-year-old, according to the document from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Department. Documents show she was taken into custody by a Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, and later posted $1,000 bond.

The outcome of the case remains unclear, however.

At the time, Gonzalez was working as an intergovernmental and community relations technician, her LinkedIn profile shows.

San Antonio political consultant Laura Barberena, who handles communications for Gonzalez’s office, didn’t immediately respond to the Current’s request for comment about the councilwoman’s previous DWI arrest, who’s been in office for a little more than a month.

After picking up the DWI charge last week, Gonzalez was the only councilperson missing Friday from Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ special meeting on Project Marvel.

Gonzalez’s arrest marks the third time in as many years that a sitting member of San Antonio City Council has been faced a drunk driving charge. District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry was charged in 2022, while his successor, Marc Whyte, was picked up by police the following year.

District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur was also charged with a DWI in 2013. She was a teacher in Houston at the time and hadn’t entered politics.

Jones’ chief of staff didn’t respond to the Current’s request for comment on how she plans to deal with members of the dais who receive DWI charges.

Gonzalez, who served as former Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s chief-of-staff between 2018 and 2022, won the June runoff for her council seat with 57% of the vote.

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This article appears in Jul 23 – Aug 6, 2025.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...