A native San Antonian, McVea is an investigative journalist. She worked at the Portland Oregonian newspaper and is the author of Evil Corp: Allstate Insurance, Shadow Networks, and the Corruption of a Major American City.
Hear from the candidate
The following questions were asked of all City Council candidates.
Please tell voters about yourself.
I am a native San Antonian, trained investigative journalist, anti-corruption advocate and nonprofit publisher. I grew up on the East Side. I attended St. Patrick’s Catholic School, Sam Houston High School and San Antonio College before earning a journalism degree from Texas Woman’s University in 1990. I am the author of numerous investigative articles and three nonfiction books. I returned to the East Side in 2010 after living 10 years in Central Mexico. I am bilingual (English-Spanish) and currently attending Trinity Law School, where I maintain a 97.1 GPA. In 2003, I founded the Auris Project Inc., a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to help marginalized communities gain access to key rights and development information. At the Auris Project, we believe that the right information can change the world.
Do you have any previous experience in government or participation on local boards, commissions or neighborhood associations? Have you run for elected office before?
Currently, I am president of the board of directors of the Auris Project. I am new to politics. I decided to run for local office after uncovering rampant corruption misconduct in city and county government while conducting research for my true crime book, Evil Corp: Allstate Insurance, Shadow Networks, and the Corruption of a Major American City. For years, I witnessed city and county officials refuse to address documented, widespread organized white collar schemes that were diverting federal development and disaster funds from our district and robbing vulnerable families in our neighborhoods. When it became clear that nothing would be done to address this scourge, I felt compelled to run for office.
What three issues do you consider to be most pressing for your district and how would you address them?
White-collar crime: Currently, District 2 is the theater for systematic and illegal transfers of property from unprotected residents using documented frauds, illegal evictions, garnishments and demolitions. I believe that unaddressed organized white-collar crime and corruption have serious national security implications. I would use the City Council platform to expose those crimes, demand government transparency and ensure public accountability.
Public corruption: Currently there is no accountability for corrupt government officials and employees who use their public positions to help organized white-collar criminals prey on vulnerable residents. I would make exposing those crimes against poor citizens a top priority.
Police reform: I would use the platform to expose some of the documented pathologies and culture of impunity within our local police force that has encouraged the rise of organized crime in our city, permitted the proliferation of corrupt cops on the force, and caused a record number of police suicides.
Do you support the proposed city charter amendment, known as Proposition A or the Justice Charter, that would bar certain policing tactics, decriminalize abortion and low-level marijuana possession and create a city justice director to oversee criminal justice policy? Why or why not?
I do not support Proposition A (Justice Charter) because it is undisciplined, poorly conceived and does nothing to address the fundamental problems that it purports to solve. For instance, the city lacks meaningful consequences for police officers who engage in misconduct because of a culture of coverup at the top. Additionally, police department leadership does not have effective oversight of street level cops. And because the default response to most police misconduct is to use readily available taxpayer money to minimize or cover up police misdeeds, we cannot expect any real compliance with city ordinances that are, at any rate, likely to be challenged by the state. At the same time, I am against any ordinance that seeks to treat destructive criminal acts as though they are infractions. I also find Proposition A to be unacceptably vague as written. It leaves too much to interpretation and lacks statistical support for its wildly varied provisions.
How do you feel the city has done at balancing the needs of downtown and the neighborhoods, from bond projects to budget priorities?
The city has not only failed and forsaken poor and otherwise marginalized communities on the East Side and West Side, but certain city employees and officials have been instrumental in the criminal schemes that have robbed and displaced vulnerable residents. Any reasonable person can see that the millions of dollars in development funds (think Promise Zone) meant to cure historic inequities and discriminatory policies against District 2 residents have instead been used to displace those residents. Complaining citizens have been ignored. Whistleblowers have been officially oppressed. The amount of criminal predation city leaders have tolerated against poor San Antonians is shocking. If elected, I would help facilitate meaningful audits of the federal programs that have been diverted away from District 2 residents and other vulnerable communities.
If elected, how do you plan to solicit input and feedback from residents in your district?
First, I would make sure that I hired staff members who are from the community and have a proven track record of advocating for the community. I would create a database of residents who have expertise and interest in council issues and solicit their advice and wisdom before aligning myself with any proposed policy. I would take a keen interest in the open records department and make sure that city employees timely and thoroughly answer public information requests. I would ensure that employees who block the public’s right to know are held accountable — up to and including dismissal and state sanctions. I would also explore developing a district office hotline, which could help direct residents to appropriate resources and make sure that all District 2 residents feel heard and respected.
