AUSTIN, Texas — Several members of the Austin City Council are asking for more transparency and answers about the Office of Police Oversight (OPO) after an appointment by the interim city manager.
Last week, Interim City Manager Jesús Garza appointed Gail McCant a the director of the OPO. McCant was previously serving as the interim director of the office.
"Austinites believe very strongly in the importance of the position. So to have this appointment made to be, you know, caught off guard with the appointment is simply unacceptable," District 2 Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes said.
On Tuesday, five city councilmembers, including Fuentes, posted a memo on the city council message board, saying that while they're not against McCant getting the job, they were surprised to hear that she'd been appointed without a wider search.
"This was a high-profile position. It was laid out to be a national search. We had a public commitment that it was going to be a national search. So to go back on that commitment in such a way erodes public trust," Fuentes said.
Fuentes and Councilmembers Zohaib "Zo" Qadri (Distrcit 9), José "Chito" Vela (District 4), José Velásquez (District 3) and Ryan Alter (District 5) wrote:
"Our offices have had the opportunity to work with Gail McCant during the preparation and passage of the recently passed APOA implementation ordinance, and we look forward to having her as the next director of the Office of Police Oversight. We found her professional, transparent, and accessible every time we reached out to her.
However, we were surprised there would be no national search for her role, as had been previously stated. Given the significance of this role and the high-profile nature of the office, why was the decision made to forgo a search and instead appoint the OPO director from within the City of Austin?
We hope the City Manager can further explain his thinking on this decision, not only for our own understanding but for the understanding of the public who we all serve."
Councilmember Alison Alter (District 10) added that she agrees with her colleagues and looks forward to Garza's explanation.
KVUE reached out to the City of Austin about the councilmembers' concerns, but we haven't heard back.