Gina Ortiz Jones speaks during a conference call during her time as U.S. Under Secretary of the Air Force, a position she held prior to her successful run for San Antonio Mayor. Credit: Public Domain / Tech. Sgt. Erin Smith

Despite rescheduling a City Council meeting about a controversial Project Marvel economic impact study, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones late Sunday told Current the public will be able to comment on the analysis, which was released last week.

During a Friday press conference in front of City Hall, community watchdog group COPS/Metro blasted Jones for moving council’s discussion on the study, which some economists have called “absolutely useless,” to Council’s Wednesday B session.

Usually, public comment isn’t allowed during B session, leading COPS/Metro officials to accuse the mayor of trying to duck public scrutiny of the report. The analysis has come under fire for projecting Project Marvel – a proposed $4 billion downtown sports-and-entertainment district — would have a $9.4 billion economic impact for the city over the next three decades, adjusted for inflation.

In her email to the Current, Jones said COPS/Metro “mischaracterized” the reason for her rescheduling the meeting.

“After receiving the read-ahead materials for that session from the City Staff – 200+ pages less than 48 hours before the meeting – I asked the City Manager to push the meeting and associated public comment to the already scheduled Aug. 6 session,” Jones said.

COPS/METRO organizer Father Jimmy Drennan told the Current during the Friday press conference that his organization tried to contact Jones multiple times before the press conference for an explanation, but got no response.

Jones’ communications director, Gary Cooper, was reassigned Thursday after serving in the position for just four days. In a LinkedIn post the veteran broadcast journalist said Jones’ office decided he wasn’t a “good fit.”

Jones’s chief of staff, Denise Carroll, is serving as the mayor’s media point-of-contact in the interim. However, she told the Current via email that she was “out of office” Friday.

“I remain committed to bringing more transparency to this entire process,” Jones said in her statement.

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This article appears in Jul 23 – Aug 6, 2025.

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,...