Looming city budget cuts and stalled contract talks with the firefighters’ union quickly spiraled into a rare move Thursday from a group of City Council members, who called for a meeting to discuss the City Attorney Andy Segovia’s “fitness to continue serving in that position.”
At a press conference on the steps of City Hall, 5 of San Antonio’s 11 council members, Marc Whyte (D10), Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6), Teri Castillo (D5) and Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2) detailed what they characterized as “significant inconsistencies and demonstrated lack of transparency” in legal opinions.
Whyte, Alderete Gavito, Castillo and McKee-Rodriguez stopped short of calling for his dismissal, signaling that their issues with Segovia could be resolved without his termination.
But Cabello Havrda, who is considering a campaign to become mayor, said she wants Segovia fired.
They pointed to a few instances of inconsistency and frustration with Segovia in the past — in addition to a lack of communication regarding the fire union negotiations — and suggested that more examples may come to light throughout this process.
“Probably you’ll get more to come down the road,” Whyte said.
“I’m looking for replacement,” Cabello Havrda said. “I think it’s time for a change. I’ve been on council five years — it’s time. And I’ll tell you, we’re airing a little bit of dirty laundry here, but it’s gotten to that point.”
McKee-Rodriguez said he doesn’t maintain a complete list of negative interactions with the City Attorney’s Office, but he often comes away from interactions with the sense that “I don’t trust [him]. And I don’t believe that [he’s] giving me all the information.”
Budget talks break down
After initial city budget discussions Wednesday, several council members asked to hold a closed-door executive session to talk specifics about the contentious fire union contract negotiations. Segovia advised against it and Mayor Ron Nirenberg denied the request.
As a result, the same five council members immediately filed a memo requesting an “executive committee meeting” to talk about the collective bargaining agreement no later than May 17 — a session they say Segovia refused to schedule.
The City Charter states that three signatures on a meeting request compels the mayor to call a meeting.
And while one section of the charter says “members of the council shall not direct or request the city manager or any subordinate of the city manager to appoint or to remove from office or employment,” another section says the city manager can hire and fire the city attorney “with the advice of council.”
Nirenberg and Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8), who is running for mayor, defended Segovia in statements on Thursday. The mayor said he was “surprised” by the action taken by his council colleagues.
“Andy Segovia has exhibited nothing but professionalism, candor and judiciousness in his time as our City Attorney. He has my support,” Nirenberg said. “The larger conversation surrounding this incident has primarily become a budget issue. I maintain that as policy stewards we should hold all budget conversations in open session. The budget cannot be a private matter.”
Segovia doesn’t want a full council meeting regarding the union negotiations to be public or private.
“As City Attorney, I have an ethical duty to maintain the confidentiality of our executive sessions,” Segovia said in a statement. “Based on information that was relayed to me, I have no confidence that what is said there with respect to the collective bargaining agreement — the City’s second largest contract — will remain confidential.”
In other words, Segovia believes information was being leaked out of those confidential meetings and jeopardizing the city’s bargaining position.
The five council members at the press conference said they would accept either an open or closed meeting.
“[Segovia] believes that Council should be able to have confidential legal discussions,” Brian Chasnoff, assistant director of the city’s Communications and Engagement department, told the San Antonio Report when asked if a public meeting could be allowed. “But if confidentiality is compromised, one of the few alternatives available is to have it in public.”
Latest on union negotiations
Negotiations between the city and San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association kicked off with a cordial tone in February, but pay increases and other compensation remain a sticking point. The city proposed increasing firefighter pay by 21.7% over five years; the union proposed 37.5% over three years.
The city estimates that the union’s combined contract as proposed would cost $520 million over five years. That’s $363 million more than the city’s $157 million proposal.
During council’s budget conversation on Wednesday, City Manager Erik Walsh said the fire contract was one of the biggest “unknowns” in the 2025 budget, which will likely need significant personnel cuts regardless of how expensive the fire contract is. The draft budget showed a $10.6 million deficit based on the city’s proposal.
Council members signaled support for firefighter raises on Wednesday, but have been told by Segovia not to talk about the contract in open meetings, Whyte said.
Whyte said during the press conference that his frustration with Segovia “has been going on for some time, but it reached a breaking point this week — because this week, we were talking about our brave firefighters.”
Castillo agreed: “As duly elected representatives, this disregard for our input is unacceptable.”
Before the press conference, Pelaez told the San Antonio Report that “Segovia is a consummate professional and has always acted in the organization’s best interest. His job is to give us objective legal advice — even when that advice is difficult to hear.”
Pelaez warned that firing or sanctioning city employees for doing so creates a “hostile work environment.”
“My colleagues’ temper tantrum is an abuse of their power,” he said.
“I think it’s easy for [Pelaez] to frame anything that he’s not a part of negatively,” McKee-Rodriguez said in response after the press conference. “He wants to be mayor. He wants to position himself separately from other individuals, including those next to us, who may be considering runs for mayor” such as Havrda.
Councilman John Courage (D9), who did not sign either letter, is also running for mayor.
McKee-Rodriguez said he would have liked to avoid calling out Segovia.
“This is not what I want to focus my public energy on,” he said. “It’s not about throwing a tantrum. … We have a real problem with the way that the city attorney and his office is operating.”
‘Dirty laundry’
Segovia’s refusal to allow a closed-door meeting is the final straw in their frustrations with him, not the first, the council members said.
“Despite the City Council’s clear and repeated requests on key issues, it has become evident that the City Attorney has consistently failed to follow through,” states the co-signed meeting request. “Additionally, there have been significant inconsistencies and a demonstrated lack of transparency in his legal opinions which have caused delays and unpredictability which affect the Council’s ability to make timely and well-informed plans and decisions.”
During the press conference, the council members cited three different examples.
Last year, Havrda and other council members asked if the city’s Animal Care Services (ACS) could spay and neuter a dog that was picked up on the streets.
“We were told by our city [attorney] that that was not possible, it was against against state law,” she said.
But when Alderete-Gavito filed a policy consideration request this month, she was told ACS does have the ability to sterilize owned animals.
“That’s one example of how we got conflicting legal advice,” Cabello Havrda said. “This could have happened a year ago.”
McKee-Rodriguez said his efforts to enhance cite-and-release policies were met with “consistently conflicting” legal advice on what policy options council could consider.
Whyte’s frustration stems from what he sees as policy bias in Segovia’s work.
“Our city attorney is there to call balls and strikes, and to give us legal advice,” he said. “Far too often [Segovia] has tried to weigh into the policy side.”
Whyte said it’s possible that Segovia can keep his job: “We’re hopeful that this is going to be the step today that brings change … to how the city attorney interacts with the rest of city council.”
