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Editor's note: This story was updated at 11:45 a.m. on May 22, 2026.
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has called for revisions to the city's internal investigation processes after making claims that a chief of staff of a councilmember would not comply with an investigation regarding her security detail.
Jones' call for the revisions came in a memorandum on Wednesday to the City Council Aides Corporation Personnel Subcommittee (LGC), first established in 2021 in an effort to govern employees hired by the mayor and by the 10 City Council district offices. The memorandum was also shared on social media.
The mayor called for city leaders to apply the city’s employee conduct and accountability rules to City Council staffers, saying current policies leave gaps in oversight.
Jones alleges that District 7 Councilmember Marina Alderete Gavito’s chief of staff, James Branch, refused to cooperate with the San Antonio Police Department and an Internal Affairs investigation. According to the memorandum, Branch did not comply with requests to participate in the investigation from October 2025 through March 2026. Alderete Gavito and Branch’s attorney deny the allegations and sid investigators found no evidence linking him to any leak.
The allegations stem from details Jones said were disclosed by someone about her private residence and the heightened security required there because of what she described as a credible death threat against her.
In a statement shared with Texas Public Radio, Councilmember Marina Alderete Gavito said Jones’ actions “cross a dangerous line.”
She characterized the mayor’s claims as “baseless personal attacks,” described Branch as “a dedicated public servant,” and said the SAPD investigation yielded no evidence linking him to any leak.
“I stand firmly with my Chief of Staff and will continue to defend his integrity and his right to due process,” Alderete Gavito said. “The Mayor should immediately retract these unfounded accusations and allow us to focus on the real challenges facing our city, rather than manufacturing conflicts that serve no public purpose.”
She added: “I remain committed to working constructively with the Mayor and my colleagues on behalf of the people we were all elected to serve.”
Mariah Medina, Branch’s attorney, said in a statement shared with Texas Public Radio that her client was being “subjected to baseless character assassination” by “the highest-ranking elected official in the city,” and called the mayor’s accusations “both deeply unfair and profoundly intimidating.”
Medina said SAPD interrogated more than 100 officers as part of the investigation and that “no officer provided evidence of any leak, transmission, or improper handling of sensitive materials by Mr. Branch.”
She said she was calling on the mayor “to acknowledge the absence of proof” of wrongdoing by Branch.
“We call on the Mayor to cease these unfounded attacks, retract the defamatory statements, and allow this matter to rest on the actual facts,” Medina said. “Mr. Branch had nothing to do with the disclosure of the Mayor’s security information.”
As a result of the mayor's request, the Personnel Subcommittee of the LGC took some action, including requesting that city staff develop a process for reviewing select LGC disciplinary matters — while allowing that most matters would be handled by the supervising councilmember.
In a social media post, the mayor said, "I’m thankful my colleagues took immediate action on my request that makes City Hall safer for everyone."
