Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has reversed course on plans to “vet” policy proposals coming out of City Hall — a move that drew intense backlash from liberals and conservatives alike on the City Council on Wednesday.
“I appreciate the comments and thoughts shared at the special meeting,” Jones said in a memo to the council and top city staff members Thursday. “Given the [council’s] desire to use the current process, … we will revert to the process outlined in the [city’s Council Consideration Request] Ordinance.”
The move drew quick praise from Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), one of Jones’ biggest critics on the issue.
Alderete Gavito said it was a “good opportunity to turn the page” on what had become a contentious disagreement for a largely ideologically aligned council, and that members should “recommit to making decisions together.”
Updating the council’s policy-making process had been one of Jones’ first moves after taking office, aimed at moving council’s proposals through the system faster, she said, and avoiding unintended legal conflicts with the state and federal government.
Jones notified the City Council in July that going forward, her chief of staff should be included as they develop their policy proposals, and all policy ideas should receive an “initial screening” from the City Attorney’s office before they’re filed.
“These are process changes that are fully within my purview, and I would argue, kind of staff-level things,” Jones said at the time.
But City Council members felt differently, and some even forced a public meeting to air their grievances about it by filing a three-signature memo.
CRR procedure changes
Returning council members had just spent much of Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s final term clawing back power over the policy-making process from the mayor’s office — which historically has had unilateral authority to set the council’s agenda and some of its procedures.
To get around that, the council codified a new CCR procedure in March, specifying the process and timeline for which the policy proposals must be crafted and heard by a council committee.
“Any proposed changes should be decided and adopted by this body into ordinance by full council,” Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5) told the mayor at Wednesday’s meeting. “I value your leadership, but … we have to think about their governing process and structure beyond our tenure on council.”
Others were more pointed in their criticism, suggesting that much of the council has more governing experience than Jones, who came from working in the Pentagon.
Six of the council’s 10 members were reelected this year, and three new members, Edward Mungia (D4), Ric Galvan (D6) and Ivalis Meza Gonzalez (D8) all recently worked as council staffers.
“I would say mayor, respectfully, perhaps watch how the system plays out for six months … before you want to make a change to a system that you’ve never been a part of,” Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) said Wednesday.
Jones left the meeting without committing to such a vote.
By Thursday, however, she seemed to have come around to the council’s concerns, calling for them to review the existing ordinance together at the beginning of 2026.
“Collectively, we share an objective of making the CCR process more efficient and effective so that we can address the community’s most pressing issues,” Jones wrote.
