San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ communications director exits after less than a week on job

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include comments from Gary Cooper.

First-term San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ communications director, Gary Cooper, has left after serving less than a week on the job, both he and the Mayor’s Office confirm.

Jones earlier this month tapped Cooper, a former San Antonio broadcaster, to serve in the role, and he started Monday. However, Cooper told the Current he’s since returned to a previous post as public information officer at San Antonio’s Neighborhood and Housing Services.

The Mayor’s Office hasn’t announced Cooper’s replacement. Officials with Jones’ office directed that all media inquiries be sent to the mayor’s chief of staff, retired U.S. Air Force Col. Jenise M. Carroll.

Carroll came on board after Jones’s first chief of staff, Jordan Abelson, departed after less than a month on the job.

Neither Cooper nor the Mayor’s Office provided a reason for his sudden departure. In a Friday Facebook post, though, Cooper said that his short stint at Mayor Jones’ office was “one hulluva week.”

“Well, that was fun,” Cooper wrote. “Best of luck to Mayor Jones, her Chief of Staff and others. Her success is our success as a city.

Cooper’s exit comes at a turbulent time for Jones administration, who took office late last month.

This week, a bipartisan trio of City Council members sent a memo to the City Clerk’s Office demanding a special meeting be held by Aug. 15 to publicly discuss Jones’ unilateral decision to change the process under which council members bring issues up for debate.

Community group COPS/Metro Alliance also has scheduled a Friday afternoon press conference to ask Jones why she cancelled a special meeting scheduled for Thursday to discuss an economic impact report released on the controversial Project Marvel development. The report includes notable omissions, including how much property tax revenue the project might generate.

Jones’s office has either declined comment or not responded to the Current’s requests for comment on those issues.

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