Supporters carry boxes of signed petitions in favor of the Justice Initiative into San Antonio City Hall. Credit: Michael Karlis

A measure seeking to decriminalize cannabis and abortion will appear on San Antonio’s May ballot after the city clerk on Wednesday verified that advocates had gathered enough signatures to put the proposed changes to voters.

Even so, progressive groups backing the San Antonio Justice Charter Initiative will face a tough fight from the Alamo City’s deep-pocketed police union. What’s more, San Antonio’s city attorney is now raising questions about the legality of the proposed charter alterations.

If passed, the initiative would end enforcement of the state’s anti-pot possession law, decriminalize abortion and ban police no-knock warrants and chokeholds in San Antonio. Additionally, it would prioritize citations instead of arrests for low-level, non-violent crimes and establish a city justice director position.

“The simple truth is that these policies will save lives by limiting unnecessary interactions with police that can lead to serious injury or even death — as we have seen recently with the shooting of Erik Cantu and death of Tyre Nichols,” said Ananda Tomas, executive director of police accountability organization Act 4 SA, one of the progressive groups fighting for the initiative.

“By passing this we will create a safer, more just San Antonio for all that can be a beacon of light for other cities across Texas and even across the nation,” Tomas continued in an emailed statement.

Although it the measure appears headed to ballot, the groups who pushed for it will face tough opposition from the San Antonio Police Officers Association (SAPOA).

SAPOA President John “Danny” Diaz previously said the Justice Charter will “hinder the effective policing in place today.” The union has a war chest of nearly $300,000 to combat the initiative in the run-up to the election, the Express-News reports.

What’s more, San Antonio City Attorney Andy Segovia on Wednesday voiced skepticism about the initiative, arguing that the majority of its proposed changes violate state law, making them legally unenforceable.

However, Mike Siegel — co-founder of progressive group Ground Game Texas, which backed the proposal — told the Express-News that the Texas Constitution grants municipalities the right to so-called “home-rule” authority.

Ground Game Texas championed a similar proposal approved by Austin voters last May that decriminalized weed in that city. Months later, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has yet to sue to stop it.

“We know that Ken Paxton loves to sue Austin, loves to make an example of Austin elected officials and has not done so,” Siegel told the daily. “And to me, that’s the strongest indication that the state attorney general himself has determined that cities do have this discretion, that it is firmly grounded in the home-rule authority that’s guaranteed by the Texas Constitution, and this is something that cities can decide for themselves.”

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This article appears in Feb 8-21, 2023.

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,...