SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio City Council denied the motion to revote on the removal of Chick-fil-A from the airport contract Saturday morning.
- Motion presented by Councilman Greg Brockhouse
- Mayor Ron Nirenberg released a statement on the initial announcement
- Brockhouse is running for mayor
The motion was made by Councilman Greg Brockhouse, who announced who would bring the motion to the floor at a previous city council meeting.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg released a statement on the matter, underscoring Brockhouse’s intentions on his mayoral run:
"To make up for his complete lack of vision for the future, Councilman Brockhouse is fixating on a fast food subcontract to try and pump up his personal political ambitions. The Council will consider his motion next week, but it’s time to get back to important issues."
The City Council originally decided to remove the restaurant from a list of approved contract vendors during a meeting on March 22.
Some council members expressed concern about adding the fast food chicken restaurant, citing its history of anti-LGBT stances.
Brockhouse originally agreed to remove Chick-fil-A and replace them with another vendor. Other council members later expressed they had regretted their decision of banning the chain.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also opened an investigation into the decision.
City Council voted to deny the revote 6-5.
Brockhouse released a statement about the rejection:
"It has hurt our reputation and sent a message that does not reflect San Antonio and its families. We had a chance to fix that today and follow the will of our City, who have spoken clearly that the removal of Chick-fil-A was a mistake. This Council again rejected religious freedom and voted against people of faith. Make no mistake, this was never about a chicken sandwich. It was about respecting everyone in our community, honoring faith and being all inclusive. We failed our City today and it will hurt our community reputation as people and businesses will now have to consider who is next when it comes to singling out people of faith.”
We spoke to Luther’s Café, a business on the strip, and C12, a Christian Business Peer Advisory Group, about the decision.
"Anyone should be allowed to have their business included. I don't know why they are so skittish about it. I understand they are closed one day and have their beliefs but everyone has their own," Paris Lopez of Luther's Café said. "Being here on the strip in San Antonio, everyone should be accepted for whatever they do and whatever they believe. Honestly, love who you love and got out of other's people's business."
"This is not about Chik-Fil-A. It's not about a chicken store. It's about discrimination and it's about fair process for city contracting." Mike Sharrow of C12 Group said. "I don't think anybody in the city should experience discrimination. I don't think people of different lifestyles or religions should experience discrimination. It should be safe for all people to do business here."
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg released this statement following Thursday's decision:
"We've spent far too much time letting Councilman Brockhouse try to exploit a fast food subcontract for his own political gain.
"I've said from the beginning that I voted in the best interests of passengers and taxpayers, and it's important to have something open 7 days a week and preferably local.
"Regardless of this outcome of this vote, no business, operating within the law, shall be barred from operating in the city of San Antonio."
"I've called for an Open B session so that the Council and citizens can further discuss contracting issues to ensure that our processes are operating under the full compliance of local, state and federal regulations."