Two members of San Antonio City Council accused Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones of pulling a fast one to put politics ahead of helping the city’s abandoned pet population.
Council was scheduled Thursday to consider an ordinance supported by Animal Care Services Director Jonathan Gary that would have fined people who abandon dogs and cats on the streets between $500 and $2,000 for a first offense. The fee would increase for subsequent penalties.
While the proposal likely would have passed, District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte told the Current that Jones pulled it from the agenda late Wednesday because she wasn’t mayor when the Council Consideration Request (CCR) was initially filed. CCRs are documents members of council must sign off on to initiate full debate on a proposed ordinance.
Jones’ office was unavailable for immediate comment on Whyte’s accusation.
“This item would have passed unanimously,” said Whyte, who’s frequently tangled with Jones since she was sworn in this summer. “These loose and dangerous animals have been a real problem for us in San Antonio over the past few years, and this ordinance was designed to deter the behavior that’s causing this public safety risk. And the Mayor decided to put a halt to it the day before we were going to vote, simply because she wasn’t there when the work started.”
Council worked on the anti-pet dumping ordinance more than a year and a half, according to Whyte. He said council members are exploring options to bring the proposal back to the dais, adding that “numerous” members of the dais are unhappy about the mayor’s decision.
If council is required to refile the CCR, the proposal would spend at least six months passing through city bureaucracy before it comes up for a vote again, Whyte also said.
District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito worked with ACS to craft the proposed ordinance, which grew from an effort to manage San Antonio’s feral peacock population. She expanded a proposal created to protect peacocks from abandonment to include cats, dogs and other pets.
“City Hall must rise above bureaucratic red tape,” Alderete Gavito told the Current of the proposal being taken off Thursday’s agenda. “Leadership may change, but the needs of San Antonio families do not. Government should move swiftly to deliver results on the issues that matter most to our neighborhoods.”
It’s not the first time Jones and Alderete Gavito have butted heads, prompting two City Hall insiders who asked not to be named to suggest Jones’ action amounts to retaliation against the councilwoman.
Jones’ move comes after she attempted earlier in her term to throw out all pending CCRs that were filed before she was sworn in. Whyte, Alderete Gavito, and District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo pushed back at the mayor’s plan during a contentious August meeting over whether she had the authority to singlehandedly change the city’s CCR rules.
Political observers have speculated that Alderete Gavito wasn’t given a permanent committee chair position because she decided to speak out against Jones’ proposed CCR change.
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