San Antonio City Council votes to censure Mario Bravo for tirade directed at colleague

San Antonio City Council censured and passed a no confidence vote against District 1 Councilman Bravo during Thursday's meeting, citing the negative impact of personal attacks he directed at a colleague during a September budget debate.

Although the 8-0 vote is an official rebuke of Bravo's actions, he will remain on council and will still be able to vote on city matters. He's already been stripped of committee assignments in the wake of the scandal, however.

Council's censure of Bravo comes after an independent investigator found that his tirade at a Sept. 15 meeting violated city rules regarding harassment and violence in the workplace, according to a memo attached to Thursday's city council agenda.

During that meeting, Bravo berated District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval — his former romantic partner — after she didn't vote for his proposal that would use surplus CPS Energy money for climate remediation. Bravo shouted at Sandoval's aide, saying, "She put the knives in my back," according to news reports.

The confrontation, which also included personal jabs at Sandoval, reportedly left her in tears.

Bravo recused himself from the vote, although numerous supporters spoke on his behalf.

"When you fight for what you truly believe in, yeah, you get emotional," Bravo's father, Armando Gutierrez Bravo, said during the meeting's public comment session. "We all have a bad day."

The vote of no confidence acknowledges that Bravo's behavior "negatively impacted his and the city council's ability to conduct its business." The vote also signifies that council has lost confidence in Bravo's ability to act effectively in his position, according to the language of the draft resolution.

"My hope is that, going forward, City Hall can be a place free of the type of events that occurred on Sept. 15, so that I may continue to represent District 7 to the best of my ability," Sandoval said in a statement.

Sandoval was absent from the meeting, as was District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry, who's now under scrutiny after police suspicion that he may have been involved in a hit-and-run accident.

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