SAN ANTONIO — District 10 City Councilman Marc Whyte has been suspended from committee assignments following his DWI arrest last month.
The punishment from Mayor Ron Nirenberg comes after Whyte publicly apologized in a social media post Wednesday night, saying he remained committed to serving the community. City Council will also meet Sunday to consider a censure, which is what happened to Whyte's District 10 predecessor, Clayton Perry, following his own DWI controversy in 2022.
Whyte was arrested late on Dec. 29 on the north side after police say he showed signs of intoxication after being pulled over. He was briefly jailed before posting bail a day later.
"I have read your emails, listened to your phone calls, and value your constructive input and words of encouragement," Whyte wrote. "These words will resonate with me for years to come."
Nirenberg's memo to city leaders said Whyte's committee suspension will remain in effect "until further notice or until more details of the incident are known."
Read the full statement here:
A warrant for a blood sample says Whyte refused to submit to a blood test or breathalyzer when police stopped him in December. Records indicate that the warrant was approved and authorities drew his blood, though the results of the test were not included. The warrant says the officer saw Whyte driving 80 mph in a 65 mph zone before changing lanes without signaling and drifting in and out of his lane.
The officer said Whyte's eyes were glossy red and his breath smelled strongly of alcohol. When asked if he'd been drinking, the council member reportedly admitted to drinking three beers.
“The memo came out this morning but the mayor and I had a conversation yesterday about how we were going to proceed,” Whyte said. “He notified me that he was going to suspend me from committees and we would have a full council discussion.”
That suspicion was effective as of Thursday and Whyte said he didn’t know how long it will last.
The council will vote on a resolution to censure Whyte on Sunday. Both the Mayors office and a city spokesperson told KENS 5 a “censure” simply a formal and public condemnation of a member’s inappropriate conduct, and does not carry additional consequences.
Former District 10 Councilman Mike Gallagher, who filled in temporarily for Whyte's predecessor, Perry during his own controversy, spoke out Thursday.
He said after watching the body camera video, he insists Whyte should not receive the same punishment as Perry.
“It was a very different matter and I hope everyone will take that into consideration and the other thing to remember is that we want to make sure that his district is protected," Gallagher said.
Whyte apologized again on Thursday, but said he was ready to put the incident behind him.”
“I’ve said from the beginning that I own my actions and take full responsibility for what happened,” Whyte said. “There is important business to do here for the city. So to the extent that we can deal with this and move on, that's what we need to do."
Court records indicate Whyte has an arraignment scheduled for Jan. 30.
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