San Antonio’s new City Council skews younger than the previous version, and — for the third time in the city’s history — is again majority female.
Three new members — Sukh Kaur (D1), Marina Alderete Gavito (D7) and Marc Whyte (D10) — along with seven returning council members and Mayor Ron Nirenberg were formally inaugurated at a Wednesday evening ceremony. The newcomers are all under the age the age of 45, joining a council that last election cycle added two members in their 20s.
“When I look at this City Council, I see a group of people that is going to be focused on pragmatic solutions to the issues we’re facing, but also bringing diversity of experience and perspective to the table as we hash out those issues,” Nirenberg said of his colleagues.
On Wednesday morning, the council formally approved results of the June 10 runoff elections in District 1 and District 7, swore in the two new members, and said goodbye to the outgoing ones. Whyte, 43, was sworn in earlier this month to replace Clayton Perry in District 10, after securing the seat in the May 6 municipal election.
“We represent the broad spectrum of politics in local government,” Nirenberg said of the new council. “But we’re also a dais that is two years more experienced and full of a diversity of professional background now that I think is going to add a lot of richness to the work that we do.”
Kaur, a 34-year-old education consultant, is the first person of South Asian descent ever elected to the San Antonio City Council. She replaces one-term council member Mario Bravo, whose voice wavered as he thanked friends and family for standing by him through some of the struggles that preceded his unsuccessful bid for reelection.
“I got to sit in this chair, I got to peek behind the curtain, and I got to see how the sausage is made … the good, the bad, the ugly, and learn from it,” said Bravo, who worked as progressive campaign operative and Environmental Defense Fund staffer before running for office.
Last year Bravo’s colleagues unanimously issued a vote of no confidence against him for verbally berating a fellow council member ahead of a contentious budget vote. On Wednesday, many of those same colleagues praised Bravo for bringing passion to the dais and for handling his election defeat with grace.
“I think your advocacy sometimes gets lost in all of the other things happening here at council,” said Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6), who added that Bravo should be leaving with his “head held high.”
“I know that it’s been a rough couple of years, but nobody gets it right the first time,” said Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4). “… I’m excited about what the future holds for you.”
In a farewell statement, Bravo thanked his council staff, whose work has come under fire in recent weeks over disagreements with local bar owners.
“Whether you agree with all the decisions they made or not … they worked tirelessly,” Bravo said.
Kaur has brought on a new chief of staff, Andrew Solano, and policy director, Matteo Treviño, who previously worked in the District 7 office.
In District 7, the entire council thanked interim member Rosie Castro for filling the seat for the past four months after Ana Sandoval resigned to accept a higher-paying job. District 7 voters chose Gavito, a 41-year-old tech executive whose father represented District 7 on City Council from 1977-85, as its new councilwoman earlier this month.
Castro ran unsuccessfully for an at-large seat on the council more than five decades earlier, and received a standing ovation at her final meeting Wednesday. As an interim replacement, she was not a candidate in the council election.
“I want to thank you and the council for giving me the opportunity to live the dream I had hoped to live when I was 23,” Castro said after Nirenberg turned over the mic for her to say her goodbyes.
Looking ahead to the new majority-female council, Castro said more women on the dais will bring important perspective to the issues the council will face in the coming two years, such as addressing affordable housing.
Wrapped up in Castro’s exit Wednesday was a recognition from many council members that their perspectives, as well those of some the new members, weren’t represented in city government until she and others fought for single-member districts on the council in the 1970s.
On Wednesday Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), 28, expressed optimism about serving on a council that’s shifted significantly younger in recent years.
Havrda pointed to the large number of council members with backgrounds in education as a new dynamic that could help address workforce challenges.
Meanwhile, Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3) said she was excited about the resurgence of women in power.
“The last time [the council had a female majority] was when my sister [was on the council] and they were able to get through the pandemic,” said Viagran. “I’m looking forward to a lot more collaboration, and the ability to move a lot faster.”
Editorial interns Flora Farr and Isabella Sandoval contributed to this report.
