Progressive City Council

June 27, 2017 SAFAFamily

The new City Council is already headed in a progressive direction.

District One City Councilman Roberto Trevino has filed a request to his council colleagues to add rainbow crosswalks to the intersection of Evergreen and Main, an area with several LGBT orientated bars, restaurants, and businesses, where the annual Pride parade is held. Trevino currently has the support of council members Pelaez, Shaw, Saldana, and Sandoval.

In his proposal, Trevino states “the addition of this crosswalk will affirm San Antonio is a place of acceptance and equality. The crosswalk will provide pedestrian safety while promoting a message of inclusion and tolerance.”

The newly formed city council has already begun to make progressive changes. On Thursday, June 22, the council addressed voted in support of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Motion by Clayton H. Perry to delay vote on Paris Climate Agreement, left. Vote to approve Paris Climate Agreement, right.

Though cities do not hold the authority to sign treaties with foreign entities, a number of major cities, with the help of their progressive mayors, have initiated efforts to endorse the agreement, which was signed in 2015 by President Obama. President Trump recently withdrew the US from participation in the accord, but many progressives are expressing their disagreement with the withdrawal and have been initiating efforts to support the agreement on local levels. For his part, Nirenberg announced recently that environmental issues will be a top priority of his administration.

In addition to climate change, the City Council affirmed the city’s participation in the “Charter for Compassion,” a grass-roots initiative launched in 2016 that strives to have San Antonio recognized as a “world-class compassionate city: one where the civic government, the religious and volunteer organizations, the businesses, the community and its educational institutions come together to recognize the importance and value of compassion in the life of a city and by doing so create an ethos of compassion and a safety net for its most vulnerable citizens.”

Consent Vote which included the city’s participation in the “Charter for Compassion.”

It is noted that Nirenberg stated in his victory speech on June 10 that it was time for us to “start listening to everyone…” because “we need to make sure the government fulfills its ‘real role and responsibility.’” At this point in time, our team is unaware of how specific events are selected to be part of this compassion charter. However, we certainly hope the language of the charter and issues tackled under its banner will include protection for Christian businesses affected by the passage of the NDO (Sept. 5, 2013) and its potential expansion due to the recent election of the “Stonewall DEM City Council of San Antonio” (pictured above), as well as the protection of unborn persons of our city who have suffered at the hands of those who do not believe they deserve protection.