The Midweek #66: A New Era Ahead for SAPD, CPS Energy, and SAWS

San Antonio will be looking for a few good men and women to fill some big shoes.

The search is already on for a new police chief to replace this week’s bigcitysmalltown podcast guest, San Antonio Police Chief William “Bill” McManus, who will retire on Sept. 30 this year.

Leaving out one eight-month interlude when he left his job to become CPS Energy's senior director of security, McManus has defied the odds and served as the city's top law enforcement officer for 20 years, dating to his 2006 recruitment by City Manager Sheryl Sculley from Minneapolis, where he served as police chief. To her credit, Sculley rehired McManus into his old post once he realized he should have never left.

Big city police chiefs last 3-5 years. It's a tough job, and politics intrudes all the time. McManus leaves with a strong record of sustained leadership and positive community relations, and no whiff of scandal. Not every city can say that about their departing police chief. His successor will inherit a strong department in a fast-growing city. McManus expects multiple internal candidates applying for the job and a wave of interested applicants from other cities eager to call San Antonio home..

CPS Energy CEO and President Rudy Garza is leaving to take the head job at the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), a hybrid utility that provides water and energy to multiple municipalities in its service area. Garza has been in a leadership position at the energy utility since 2012, but has led the organization for less than five years. So his departure is a move that begs a back story. He certainly has received high marks from all corners for his leadership. I wonder if Garza would be taking the job if his utility were not facing a budget deficit and a City Council reluctant to approve a requested rate increase later this year?

We will invite Garza to make a return appearance on bigcitysmalltown before he leaves our city. .

SAWS CEO and President Robert Puente, who has held his job almost as long as McManus, is also facing headwinds seeking a necessary rate increase from City Council. His annual six-figure performance bonuses have been an on-and-off issue at city hall in recent years, and I now wonder whether the current council will decide it’s time for generational change at the Public Safety headquarters and at both municipal utilities. Not much is likely to actually happen this summer, but as the new fiscal year starts on Oct. 1, I would expect there to be some new faces in the house.

Our episode with Chief McManus will be available Friday morning. He will be missed, but the good news is he and his wife Lourdes now call San Antonio home.

Go, Spurs, Go!

Please count me as someone who is happy that Mayor Gina Jones attended Game Six of the Spurs-Oklahoma City Thunder series, a pivotal win that set up the decisive game seven. It’s important for the city's top elected official and our world-class NBA franchise to be seen working together as a new basketball arena is built at Hemisfair in the coming years. Mayor Jones, a military vet, probably was not here for many of the five championship seasons the team has given the city since its first win in 1999 against the New York Knicks. Being in the Frost Center for such a definitive win and feeling the collective energy must have been an aha! Moment for the mayor. Heading home amid the parade of honkers must have been another reminder that the Spurs bring us together like no one else can.

This is what the Spurs mean to the city, and we haven’t even started the first game of the Finals.

The media seem obsessed with whether an occasional free game ticket to her and city officials somehow corrupt them. It’s a fair question to ask if someone abuses their position, but do we expect the mayor on her salary to pay for a playoff ticket? Mayor Jones has more than demonstrated her independence on the subject of Project Marvel. Does anyone really believe she will be unduly influenced by a complimentary seat at the playoffs?

As long as she reports it, she should be good. There are some perks that come with an otherwise thankless, relatively low-paying job. Kudos to the Spurs for hosting the mayor.

I hope she and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a hardcore Knicks fan, make a bet on the outcome of the championship series that starts this evening. Make the guy wear a Spurs shirt for a week in New York. I know we will see Mamdani cheering on his team. I hope we see our mayor on television cheering for her hometown team.

Go, Spurs, Go!