SAN ANTONIO — A coalition of five City Council members – amounting to half of San Antonio's chief governing body – is seeking a meeting to "discuss suitability" of Andy Segovia, who has served as head of the city's legal office since 2016.
The meeting is being pursued by council members Melissa Cabello Havrda of District 6; Marina Alderete-Gavito of District 7; Teri Castillo of District 5; Jalen McKee-Rodriguez of District 2; and Marc Whyte of District 10. Speaking about their concerns from the steps of City Hall on Thursday, they claimed Segovia has repeatedly provided inconsistent information while impeding or blocking progress on council business, pointing specifically to the city's ongoing negotiations with the local firefighters union.
One council member, Cabello Havrda, explicitly said she wants Segovia gone from the position he's held for eight years.
"I'm speaking for myself: It's time for a replacement," she said.
The five leaders have sent a memo to City Manager Erik Walsh seeking a meeting next week to discuss Segovia's "suitability" in the job, writing "it is imperative that we have full confidence in his ability to executive his duties with diligence and effectiveness."
"Regrettably," the memo goes on to say, "it is evident that this confidence has been compromised."
Walsh said Thursday evening that he plans to meet with the council members "to hear and address their concerns," while adding he has "complete confidence" in the city attorney.
In brief a statement to KENS 5, Segovia said he has "an ethical duty to maintain the confidentiality of our executive sessions."
"Based on information that was relayed to me, I have no confidence that what is said there with respect to the (firefighters) collective bargaining agreement – the city's second-largest contract – will remain confidential."
'A breaking point'
The five council members, whose experience on the body ranges from five years to 11 months, pointed to recent conversations about local firefighters' collective bargaining agreement, as a tipping point in a consistent pattern of inconsistent legal advice.
According to the council members, they were told some of those conversations couldn't happen publicly. But when they requested closed-door meetings to discuss the subject, they claim Segovia "intervened and attempted to block us from having that conversation." The CBA is set to expire Dec. 31.
"I'm disappointed we were not taken into executive session despite multiple requests from City Council members," Castillo said on Thursday. "We can’t make data-driven decision on this negotiation if we’re not given full data."
Whyte called it a "sad, sad day for the City of San Antonio" before claiming Segovia has "worked with city staff and the mayor on too many occasions to block transparency" over the last year, since he's been in office.
"This has been going on for some time, but it reached a breaking point this week," he added.
Nirenberg, meanwhile, said via a statement to KENS 5 that the memo was "a surprise to everyone."
"We won't solve budget issues on the City Hall steps or by attacking city officials," the mayor added before emphasizing his confidence and support in Segovia. "(He) has exhibited nothing but professionalism, candor and judiciousness in his time as our city attorney.
Segovia leads an office with 50-plus lawyers, having been hired to serve as city attorney in 2016, according to his bio page. A graduate of UT and Texas A&M, he previously worked on the legal staff of General Motors for 26 years.
The San Antonio fire union posted on Facebook a message of gratitude to the five council members for their "leadership in the face of uncertain adversity as they called for appropriate accountability within our city."
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