This article has been updated.
Former hotel association leader Liza Barratachea and project management consultant Patrice Melancon claimed the two open at-large seats on the San Antonio River Authority’s 12-member board of directors.
Barratachea led the five-candidate field with 26.6% of the vote, followed by Melancon with 23%, according to unofficial results from the Bexar County Elections Department Tuesday night. Dan Rossiter, a computer scientist, followed closely behind at 21.7%.
Joel Solis, an engineer, took 16.6% of the vote and environmental activist Joseph “Joedy” Yglesias had 12.1%.
The San Antonio River Authority manages the San Antonio River watershed, helping develop policies on water quality, flood control and overall health of the river and its environs. Its board consists of two at-large members from Bexar, Wilson, Karnes and Goliad counties, and one member for each of the river authority’s four districts in Bexar County. The authority’s jurisdiction covers 3,658 square miles.
Having garnered the most votes, Barratachea will serve a four-year term under the river authority’s new term system, while Melancon will get a two-year term.
The two women come from very different career backgrounds.
Barratachea has worked for multiple San Antonio City Council members, served as a budget and policy advisor to former Gov. Rick Perry, and spent nearly 10 years as the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce’s vice president of public affairs. Melancon spent 33 years in the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserves, where she reached the rank of brigadier general.
A native of San Antonio’s West Side, Barratachea said she has often been involved in water policy in one way or another across her professional career. She worked for former District 8 Councilwoman Bonnie Connor prior to serving as president of the San Antonio Hotel and Lodging Association — during which she said focusing on the health of the San Antonio River and the River Walk was an important part of her job.
She went on to become a community liaison during the formation of San Antonio’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan and told the San Antonio Report Tuesday evening she has always felt proper flood planning is important to San Antonio’s future. She added she’s particularly interested in the river authority’s work with the Westside creeks, which are poised to receive significant federal funding for revitalization efforts.
The river authority is “doing great things, and I am looking forward to being part of their team to continue to do great things,” Barratachea said. She added she understands many San Antonians have a connection to the river as a cultural icon and see it as a representation of the ecology of the area.
Melancon also has years of experience working in the realm of water management. She is the sole proprietor of CWG Consulting, a project management consulting firm that specializes in water resources, flood control and construction.
She has worked as the Air Force’s executive director of natural disaster recovery, as the director of joint space ops center consolidation for the Air Force, and as the watershed engineering department manager for the San Antonio River Authority.
Melacon has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and a master’s degree in water resources from the University of Texas, and she represented District 10 on the City of San Antonio’s Drainage Committee for the 2022 municipal bond.
The river authority’s budget is funded through property taxes at a rate of 1.80 cents per $100 of assessed value. Its adopted budget for fiscal year 2023-24 is $389.6 million.
