Council members question Garza’s promotion of police oversight director
Friday, October 13, 2023 by
Emma Freer Interim City Manager Jesús Garza’s recent promotion of Gail McCant to director of the Office of Police Oversight has rankled City Council members, who say he backtracked on a prior commitment to conduct a national search and skirted transparency considerations.
McCant previously served as interim director of the office and brings with her a long “career as a public servant (that) reflects her unwavering commitment to serving the public and upholding the highest standards of accountability and fairness,” Garza wrote in a Sept. 29 memo to Council announcing her appointment.
In response, Council Members Zo Qadri, Chito Vela, José Velásquez, Vanessa Fuentes and Ryan Alter asked Garza to “further explain his thinking on this decision, not only for our own understanding but for the understanding of the public who we all serve,” in an Oct. 3 post to the City Council Message Board.
Fuentes told the Austin Monitor that Garza has the right to make such appointments and that she isn’t concerned about McCant’s fitness for the role. Still, she and the other Council members were caught off guard by the announcement.
“Appointing the director of the Office of Police Oversight is a high-profile decision that needs to be made with the community in mind,” she said last Tuesday.
The next day, Garza responded to these concerns in another memo to Council, acknowledging that he previously had committed to a national search. But he justified his decision to promote McCant given Council’s Sept. 21 directive that he implement certain components of the Austin Police Oversight Act, spearheaded by Equity Austin and overwhelmingly approved by voters in May.
“Had I moved forward with a national search, we would be waiting until next year before being able to name a permanent lead for the Office – a delay that would simply add to the already-perceived delay of moving forward with the voters’ will via (the Austin Police Oversight Act),” he wrote.
“It was not my intent to catch you off guard with this very important appointment,” he continued. “However, I stand firm in my reasoning for moving forward and hope that you all also recognize the need to bring that stability to the OPO.”
Chris Harris, president of Equity Action and policy director for the Austin Justice Coalition, questioned this reasoning.
“We understand that to be an excuse, rather than a reason,” he told the Monitor on Wednesday. “There’s been no argument presented that the current interim director of OPO hasn’t been able to implement (the Austin Police Oversight Act) because they’re an interim.”
Harris is also concerned that McCant, who became interim director in June, hasn’t yet taken steps to implement the act, which grants the office greater access to police records, including confidential personnel – or “G” – files, among other provisions.
“The only thing that we’ve seen is the office (under McCant’s leadership) continues to be disempowered, despite the will of the voters and also now the law, which says they should be doing more,” he said.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office recently ruled against the city’s request to withhold such records, citing the act, “which prohibits the city from maintaining a G file,” as The Austin Chronicle reported Sept. 29.
Harris hopes Garza heeds Council direction regarding the Austin Police Oversight Act, starting with ensuring that McCant and other Office of Police Oversight staff receive the training required to access such records.
Fuentes is likewise focused on ensuring that the Office of Police Oversight honors “the spirit of the ballot initiative.” She also asked that Garza exercise caution in the future, given the circumstances.
Mayor Kirk Watson announced Monday that the Council committee tasked with recommending a recruiting firm to conduct a national search for a permanent city manager had made its decision. Council will consider the recommendation at its Oct. 19 meeting.
“Knowing that we are in the process of hiring the next city manager, it’s important to me that the city administration refrains from making permanent appointments until we have the next city manager in place,” Fuentes said.
The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.
You're a community leader
And we’re honored you look to us for serious, in-depth news. You know a strong community needs local and dedicated watchdog reporting. We’re here for you and that won’t change. Now will you take the powerful next step and support our nonprofit news organization?
