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After a recent drive-by shooting in Dignowity Hill, residents took their fear and frustrations to Eddie Martinez.

Martinez, president of the neighborhood association, said they wanted more cops patrolling their near East Side community to counter a rise in violent crime. Their city councilman, Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, agreed. He said the Police Department should send officers where theyre most needed.

Yet McKee-Rodriguez also is councils most ardent opponent of increasing the size of San Antonios police force.

For some Dignowity Hill residents, thats a problem.

I know thats frustrating to a lot of individuals who live in the neighborhood who do want police presence, Martinez said.

Assistant City Manager David McCary, left, speaks with District 2 Councilperson Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, right, during the fourth public meeting regarding the Brackenridge Park Project at the Witte Museum in San Antonio on June 14, 2022.

McKee-Rodriguez wants to channel tax dollars to social services instead of hiring more police officers to attack the roots of crime.

How much money the city spends on law enforcement is just one hot-button issue brought forth by a group of first-term City Council members who may be the most liberal in recent memory.

Mario Bravo in the downtown and near North Side District 1, McKee-Rodriguez in the East Side District 2 and Teri Castillo in the near West Side District 5 were elected last year as an assumed new voting coalition, although Bravo has since taken a back seat.

Their image, often combative, may alienate some voters. Others say it makes sense that neighborhoods home to some of the citys poorest, long-neglected residents want to see bold new politicians who will break with the status quo.

Disagreement can be good, Castillo said. Thats important for folks to observe.

McKee-Rodriguez and Castillo represent a shift in their communities. Past voters in District 2 produced one of the citys most conservative mayors in modern history in Ivy Taylor. Those in District 5 supported a business-friendly agenda in former Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales.

The two new council members are part of a national wave of progressive elected officials who resemble Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Austins Greg Casar, a former councilman whos running as a Democrat for Congress. Voters placed them in office partly in response to growing income inequality and an authoritarian shift in GOP politics that crystallized under former President Donald Trump.

On ExpressNews.com: You need more law enforcement: San Antonio City Council splits over how best to cut crime

More than halfway through their first terms, their presence so far has not shifted their colleagues to the left. But they can count some wins. They tend to gain support for classic liberal goals, such as protecting abortion access.

By bringing issues such as law enforcement resources to council, other members are forced to take a public stance they may otherwise have not, McKee-Rodriguez said.

Martinez is personally glad to see his council member seek solutions to crime outside the Police Department. But he recognizes others have a different reality.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg, right, talks with District 1 Council member Mario Bravo during City of San Antonio first budget goal-setting session of the year at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens, Wednesday, April 13, 2022.

I think its well-intentioned, but we have to triangulate with whats happening in the community, Martinez said.

In one of councils more high-profile votes this year, the trio stuck together in voting no on the police union contract with the city, saying new reforms to discipline were necessary but didnt go far enough. They wanted to see a more independent civilian review board and to remove a provision allowing officers to use vacation days instead of unpaid suspension.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio police union contract approved by City Council over some community calls to try again

In raising those issues, council members echoed calls from ACT 4 SA, which consists of former organizers behind San Antonios Proposition B. The proposition called for stripping the police union of its right to collectively bargain with the city. It was narrowly defeated.

All three said their vote was about police accountability. But District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran, who represents the South Side, said their votes pointed toward a larger goal.

District 5 City Councilwoman Teri Castillo speaks during a press conference announcing a march organized by All of Us or None Texas and other partnering organizations held outside the Bexar County Courthouse in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 8, 2022. The march will be held on March 19 and aims to mobilize communities impacted by mass incarceration to show up and vote in 2022.

I dont understand how my council colleagues are gonna go back out into the community and explain how a vote no wasnt a vote to defund, Viagran said at the time.

Her comment was followed by shouts from community members who showed up at council chambers to ask for changes. Tension in the room was palpable as activists said those who supported the new contract didnt have the same political willpower as Bravo, McKee-Rodriguez and Castillo.

But its not always the same three in sync.

Bravo doesnt vote with McKee-Rodriguez and Castillo as often as some political analysts assumed. His District 1 predecessor, Roberto Trevio, was also a liberal member. While Bravo was seen early on as someone who could bolster an assertive left wing of council, he hasnt proved to be the firebrand voice the other two provide.

Instead, District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval often joins the so-called progressive ranks. District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry, known as the lone conservative on council, also votes with the progressives regularly.

City Councilwoman Teri Castillo listens to Texas Poet Laureate Dr. Carmen Tafolla during a Cassiano Park event Sunday afternoon to commemorate the 83rd anniversary of the Pecan Shellers Strike.

Most council members make a show of pushing for infrastructure needs such as roads and drainage. When McKee-Rodriguez and Castillo advocate for the essentials, they make it about equity.

The pair represent low-income communities that see little business investment and few city services such as street repairs.

The East Side has more miles of F streets, or city roads in the worst condition, than any other district. McKee-Rodriguez asked for a different formula in how the city distributes road repair funds, one that would make a larger dent in the streets of his district.

He may soon be able to claim the change as a victory in the upcoming city budget.

The West Side often bears the brunt of code enforcement complaints. Castillo secured money in last years budget for a pilot program to repair aging homes at risk of city demolition orders, which could keep affected homeowners in place.

Still, these urban neighborhoods battle new development and rising property values that threaten to force out longtime residents.

It follows that those districts would elect more progressive council representatives, said Christian Anderson, a political consultant.

I think in those communities it makes perfect sense for them to elect council members based off this urgent shift in the community, Anderson said. And its certainly energized longtime residents to take an interest they hadnt in the past.

At the same time, gentrification has accelerated. Younger, more liberal voters may have replaced some longtime voters.

From council chambers, McKee-Rodriguez and Castillo focus on those poorer neighborhoods.

Both voted down a rate hike from city-owned utility CPS Energy this year. McKee-Rodriguez said a $5 per month increase in bills would push many of his constituents over the edge. Castillo said the timing of a rate hike was wrong and would burden low-income households.

The vote allowed the liberal council members to showcase a stand for their communities facing poverty and record-high inflation. It likely also satisfied younger, more liberal voters who have demanded action on climate change from CPS, such as the closure of the coal-fired J.K. Spruce power plant.

If council had said no to the rate increase, they could have gained leverage to make more changes at the utility, Castillo said. Her comments again mirrored those of activists.

The two council members comments show them seeing themselves as playing a larger role reforming CPS and not bowing to its business needs.

District 1 Councilperson Mario Bravo talks with attendees following the fourth public meeting regarding the Brackenridge Park Project at the Witte Museum in San Antonio, TX, on June 14, 2022.

While nonpartisan in name, council is composed mostly of Democrats. They tend to be more liberal than past council members, Anderson said. But many are still moderate and often take pro-business and pro-development stances.

The disagreements lead to political skirmishes once considered rare in San Antonio.

McKee-Rodriguez clashed with District 8 Councilman Manny Pelez when Pelez introduced a proposal to create a permanent cite-and-release program limited to marijuana arrests. Local activists and supporters of McKee-Rodriguez said it undercut their efforts to push for a more expansive program.

On ExpressNews.com: Four-year battle: San Antonio activists say proposal to reduce marijuana arrests isnt enough

McKee-Rodriguez had been preparing his own proposal on the subject, one that would have covered other low-level offenses such as graffiti, driving with an invalid license and theft. Pelez didnt support adding those to the program, and he moved on with his own version. He said council should still do what it can by including marijuana arrests. Activists working with McKee-Rodriguez said it made their goals less likely to become reality.

Such spats have increased in frequency.

Council this month passed a mostly symbolic resolution in support of abortion access. The rowdy meeting saw jeers from public speakers on both sides of the debate but by the end, it was McKee-Rodriguez and Castillo who scoffed at Pelez for his vote.

Pelez said no to the resolution after emphasizing the work hes done to support womens rights. He said the city needs access to abortion but that the resolution wasnt strong enough to make a difference.

Castillo, who drafted the resolution and felt San Antonio had to do what it could to send a message about abortion rights, derided Pelez.

I appreciate the mansplaining, Castillo said. And I also understand how as a straight male, you dont understand the impact this resolution will have on and for individuals who can carry a child.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg cut her speech off shortly after, when Castillo referred to Pelez as homie.

Relationships among council members and city staff are often key to accomplishing goals. Despite their clashes, McKee-Rodriguez and Castillo said they have worked to build rapport with colleagues and find common ground.

But some colleagues are frustrated that policy proposals arent realistic.

That may include McKee-Rodriguezs arguably most unique and consequential ask that the city establish a new office employed by criminologists who will re-envision San Antonios response to crime. It has languished amid bureaucratic delays.

Nirenberg has not introduced the proposal fast enough to make it into councils ongoing budget talks. Officials have instead turned to an academic study of the Police Department.

When voters elected McKee-Rodriguez and Castillo, they knew that on some level it may be harder for them to achieve results.

Their voters elected them knowing they would be working against the status quo, Anderson said.

During a first council term, a members votes are important. They show their direction and morals.

But as they move forward, they will have to create results and deliver on issues, Anderson said.

megan.stringer@express-news.net

See the article here:
Progressive lawmakers in S.A.: What have they accomplished? - San Antonio Express-News