Updated 6:27 p.m.
The San Antonio City Council has selected former City Councilman Art Hall to fill the vacancy in District 2, which contains San Antonio’s East Side.
He will serve in an interim capacity for District 2 until May 31. Hall, 48, was confirmed by the council in a 7-3 vote.
“I think District 2 is going to be in a good position,” Hall said. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to represent them for the next four to five months. I look forward to working with this council.”
Council members Roberto Trevino of District 1, Rebecca Viagran of District 3 and Greg Brockhouse of District 6 voted against Hall. Viagran and Brockhouse stated they favored another finalist Jada Sullivan.
“I believe her answers were phenomenal and spot on,” Viagran said. “She knew nuances of the district, she has been rooted and established in District 2, … she talked about building together and not to build to divide.”
Hall was one of 13 applicants vying to complete to seek the rest of the unexpired term after the seat was left vacant following the resignation of former councilman William Cruz Shaw last month.
Hall said he was disappointed in the dissenting votes but respects the diversity of opinions on the council.
“What I think I’ve been good about throughout my political career and otherwise is bringing people together, this just creates just another opportunity for me to bridge any differences that there may be with other council members but also within the community,” he said.
Hall is a former District 8 councilman who served parts of northern San Antonio from 2003 to 2007. He was termed-out of office due to previous limits that only allowed a member to serve two terms. That has since been extended to four two-year terms.
In order to take the seat immediately, Hall would have needed a super-majority of eight votes. Having only received seven, he will not be allowed to take office for 10 days, which is Jan. 20.
Later this month, candidate filing for the May municipal election opens. All 10 council seats and the mayor’s seat will be up for election. Hall said he does not plan to run for the open seat.
The council will begin interviewing applicants for the next city manager Monday. Because those interviews will be conducted in closed-door meetings, Hall will not be able to participate. After being sworn in on Thursday, he said he will review the applications in the meantime.
Joey Palacios can be reached at Joey@TPR.org and on Twitter at @Joeycules
