Hecklers shouted out their frustrations at District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran during a town hall she held Tuesday to discuss the city’s $158 million budget deficit, footage shared on Facebook shows.
At least three people at the meeting began yelling at Viagran during a Q&A session, initially complaining that she was only answering questions from select constituents. One heckler accused Viagran of “thinking she’s better than us,” while another voiced anger that the councilwoman rejected Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ proposed citywide vote on the city’s $489 million contribution to a new Spurs arena.
“Are you lining up your next job because you know you’re termed out?” one of the hecklers called out.
During the verbal barrage, Viagran smirked and looked down at her watch, the clip shared by watchdog group InfuseSA shows.
The same heckler continued, shouting that Viagran’s sister, former District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran, was a better elected official.
“You’re nothing like your sister and what she did for this community,” the woman continued. “You haven’t done crap.”
The incident comes amid rising tensions at City Hall.
The councilwoman held a press conference two weeks ago at which she blamed the city’s budget deficit on Jones, who’s only been mayor for a little more than a year. In contrast, Viagran has been on the dais since 2021.
Earlier this week, Viagran voted against Jones’ proposal to put the city’s public financing for the Spurs arena on the ballot, even though many in her South Side district voted last November against the use of county money to fund the arena and the broader Project Marvel sports-and-entertainment district.
During Tuesday night’s meeting, Viagran discussed proposed cuts to city services to deal with the budget deficit.
Among other things, those cuts would include eliminating 101 municipal jobs, slashing 39 staff positions across 17 library branches and eliminating the city’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office. At the same time, city staff has proposed raising 140 fees, ranging from airport parking rates to garage sale permits.
Two other members of City Council have set budget town halls for Wednesday.
District 9 Councilwoman Misty Spears will meet with constituents at 6:30 p.m. at the Walker Ranch Senior Center, 835 W. Rhapsody Drive.
District 4 Councilman Edward Mungia will hold his gathering at the Robinette Community & Senior Center, 1423 South Ellison Drive. It also will get underway at 6:30 p.m.
