San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has hoisted a white flag in her controversial battle to change the process under which City Council members bring up policy proposals for a vote.
At least, for now.
In a Thursday memo to City Manager Erik Walsh, Jones wrote that after receiving critical feedback from colleagues, City Council will stick with a process established under former Mayor Ron Nirenberg governing how members introduce Council Consideration Requests (CCRs).
“I would target a collective review of the CCR process after the new year, so that we can implement improvements and add to the CCR ordinance as necessary,” Jones wrote in the memo.
Jones’ decision to back down comes after a contentious Wednesday council meeting where she sparred with District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte and others. During the discussion, District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur even compared Jones to former Spur Kawhi Leonard, whom many fans derided for failing to be a team player.
“I think what our community wants from us is to work together as a team to figure out what our policy-making process is going to be that works for everyone,” Kaur said.
Weeks into her first term as mayor, Jones — without input from council or the public — issued a memo calling for new processes that critics on council said would make it harder to introduce CCRs.
Under the proposed changes, council members would have to get approval from both Walsh and City Attorney Andy Segovia, then consult with the mayor’s chief of staff before seeking five signatures from colleagues in support of their request.
In response, a bipartisan coalition of council members — Whyte, D5’s Teri Castillo and D7’s Marina Alderete Gavito — filed a formal, three-signature memo with the City Clerk demanding a meeting on the matter. During the meeting, which took place Wednesday, Whyte argued that Jones’ decision to change the process without the consent of council violated the City Charter.
“Watch how the systems plays out for six months, be a part of it before you want to make a change to a system that you’ve never been a part of, see how it works, and then perhaps you can make the recommendations, because it’s worked pretty well,” Whyte, an attorney by trade, told Jones.
During the discussion, Jones maintained that she didn’t intend the changes to be a power grab but rather an exercise in making local government more efficient.
Even so, political analysts told the Current that the new mayor’s attempt to change how things are done at City Hall without consulting colleagues has hampered her ability to build consensus.
In a statement to the Current, Alderete Gavito said she hopes that with the CCR issue settled, council can “turn the page” and move forward in a more unified way.
“When all 11 members are part of the discussion from the start, we deliver better policy and a stronger city,” Alderete Gavito said.
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This article appears in Aug 7-20, 2025.
