Courtesy Photo / Manny Pelaez Campaign
During a Thursday meeting, District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez said being on City Council is the "closest thing to royalty in San Antonio."
During a contentious debate Thursday over raising pay for San Antonio elected officials, Councilman Manny Pelaez — a mayoral candidate — called council colleague Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and local social-justice advocates "poverty pimps."
"Poverty pimp" is a derogatory term used to describe people who exploit the vulnerability and suffering of marginalized communities for personal gain.
Pelaez's verbal broadside came during a discussing of six charter amendments council approved at the meeting to go before San Antonio voters this fall. Among the most hotly contested were proposals that would provide pay raises to members of council and and expand their terms from two years to four.
Currently, council members earn a meager $45,722, while the mayor takes home $61,725. The amendment that will go before voters Nov. 5 would give council members a 42% pay raise, allowing them to earn $70,200 annually. The mayor would receive $87,800.
District 2's McKee-Rodriguez, one of the most progressive members of the dais, has been among the vocal proponents for increasing council pay and has spoken about his need to take a part-time job as a public-school math teacher to make ends meet.
"I'm 29 years old. People my age are starting families and having children. I cannot comfortably do that right now, and how many other regular working-class people who want to start a family will not run for office because they know that it will not be attainable or sustainable for them?" McKee-Rodriguez said during the meeting.
He continued: "We have to think about that, and we can't close doors behind us. I would be willing to ask my constituents for compensation, but I understand that some of my colleagues probably wouldn't do that. But, I would recommend that anyone who's missed 10 to 15 council meetings probably shouldn't anyway."
It's unclear who McKee-Rodriguez was referring to in his jab about missed meetings. However, District 8's Pelaez, an attorney by trade, has missed multiple meetings over recent months.
District 6's Melissa Cabello Havrda, who's also an attorney, voiced offense at a suggestions made by others on council that lawyers serving on the dais are insulated from the salary concerns.
"Y'all can make a big issue about lawyers being up here against [the pay raise], but I was not born a lawyer," Cabello Havrda fired back. "I was born in Culebra Park on the West Side, and I worked my butt off in restaurants to get my education. Nobody else paid my way. With one side of your mouth, you talk about the need for educational attainment, and with the other, you're knocking the brown girl from the West Side for getting her JD. The community is watching."
For his part, Pelaez went on a comedic rant about council members being "the closest thing to royalty in San Antonio." He lambasted McKee-Rodriguez for his "pejorative snark" and perceived ungratefulness for his privileged position on the dais.
"We get to park wherever the hell we want," Pelaez said. "All of us get invited to every Spurs game and all the high-ticket concerts. And by the way, those of us up here who talk about regular-ass people and regular folks and being poverty pimps and all that stuff, you'll see them all in the luxury suites and at luxury events and galas, right?"
In the end, the motion to ask voters whether to give council members a pay raise passed in an 8-3 vote. Pelaez, Havrda and District 10's Marc Whyte, another attorney, voted against the measure.
In social media posts following the meeting, McKee-Rodriguez and District 5's Teri Castillo, another council progressive, didn't appear to be mad about Pelaez's use of the term "poverty pimp." Instead, they took issue with his claim that council member get free Spurs tickets.
"[I] need to know who is not inviting me to Spurs games and suites," Castillo tweeted.
McKee-Rodriguez tweeted back, "Embarrassing, but I've never been to a Spurs game."
McKee-Rodriguez also tweeted later that he was going to post the attendance records for council members to "make a point."
Beyond pay raises and longer terms for council, the package of amendments cleared to go to voters includes:
- Raising the city manager's pay beyond its current $374,000 cap.
- Allowing city employees to participate in local political activities.
- Adding a definition of "conflict of interest" to the City Charter.
- Revising language in the charter to account for outdated and superseded provisions.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed
