Wolff Says Clay-Flores, DeBerry Will Change Dynamic of Commissioners Court

November 5, 2020 - San Antonio

By Jade Esteban Estrada, Political Columnist, San Antonio Sentinel

Outgoing Commissioner Kevin Wolff believes that Rebeca “Becky” Clay-Flores and Trish DeBerry, two women who were elected to Bexar County Commissioners Court in Tuesday’s general election, will bring a new dynamic to the court - one that hasn’t been seen since former Bexar County Judge Cyndi Taylor Krier stepped down in 2000.

"I always think it’s a good idea when you can bring different perspectives and new perspectives to any body, regardless of what the demographic may be,” Wolff explained Wednesday night during a televised briefing. “However, we have not had a female on the court for 20-some-odd years. As a matter of fact, Judge Krier was the last female on court and now to have two, I think [that] will change the dynamic and I think you’ll see a lot of positive things there.”

In March, Clay-Flores, 45, forced four-term incumbent Sergio “Chico” Rodriguez into a Democratic primary runoff for Precinct 1 commissioner. In July, she won 61 percent of the tally, essentially ending the administration of her long-serving opponent. 

After that upset, political observers predicted that Clay-Flores, a special projects manager at the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, would easily prevail in the contest against her challenger Gabriel Lara, who ran as a Republican. Precinct 1 is the county’s largest precinct and leans Democratic, so it wasn’t surprising when Clay-Flores ended the night with 65 percent of votes compared to Lara’s 35 percent.

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Looking back, Lara was united with Clay-Flores in one sense: In a September interview, the retired paramedic revealed that he wanted to see Rodriguez unseated, even if Clay-Flores would be the one to do it.

During our video conference, I asked him: How did you feel when Rebeca Clay-Flores won the Democratic nomination over Chico, who has been in office for four terms?

“I was ecstatic, to say the least,” he said. “I knew that, regardless who wins, we were going to have a full-time representative in 2021.”

The commissioner-elect took to Facebook on Election night.

“After a year of campaigning, our hard work and dedication has paid off and WE have won this race,” she wrote on her campaign’s Facebook page. “We have made history and changed the landscape of the commissioners court. Juntos Luchamos! Juntos Ganamos!”

Clay-Flores will be the first woman of color on the court.

Two seats down, DeBerry, 55, had a different campaign journey.

After Wolff announced last year that he would not seek re-election as Precinct 3’s commissioner, the businesswoman and mother of two decided to run for the open seat.

On Super Tuesday, she faced seven candidates for the Republican nomination; but only Tom Rickhoff, a former federal prosecutor and judge, and DeBerry advanced to a runoff. Rickhoff received 33.8 percent of votes and DeBerry earned 28.59 percent.

On a side note, in San Antonio’s 2009 mayoral race, DeBerry - then DeBerry-Mejia - came in a distant second behind Julián Castro with 28.98 percent of the vote.

En route to a runoff campaign made more challenging by Covid-19 safety guidelines, DeBerry found herself in direct competition with Rickhoff’s prominent surname. It’s worth mentioning that her opponent’s brother, Gerard “Gerry” Rickhoff, certainly benefited from the name recognition. The former county clerk won the GOP nomination for Bexar County sheriff without having a law enforcement background or even any campaign contributions, according to financial filings.

But DeBerry, the CEO of her own public relations firm, has never been one to shy away from a challenge.

In July, she won the primary runoff by 54 percent of the vote; and late Tuesday night, she grabbed 55 percent of the final tally compared to her Democratic opponent Christine Hortick’s 45 percent.

There was hope among Democrats that the enthusiasm for the Biden/Harris ticket would bolster down-ballot candidates, but once the absentee and early-vote results came in, which is how a majority of Bexar County voters cast their ballots, Democrats could not see a path to victory for Hortick.

Much in the way Clay-Flores supporters were expecting an easy Democratic win in Precinct 1, DeBerry was also expected to ascend to Wolff’s position in the North Side precinct with no trouble at all. However, over the past few months, the Precinct 3 race started to show signs of a tossup.

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On October 16, the San Antonio Express-News editorial board reversed their previous endorsement of DeBerry after handing down an opinion that, if she were elected, some of her business contracts could become conflicts of interest. Ultimately, neither the pulled endorsement nor the high Democratic turnout prevented her from becoming the second Republican woman on the court in its history. 

“I feel incredibly gratified,” DeBerry said in a phone interview. “We ran on a platform of appraisal reform and lower property taxes which resonated with the people of Precinct 3. With my small business experience, I’ll be able to create more jobs and help jump-start the economy.“

In January, Clay-Flores and DeBerry will be sworn in as commissioners. They will join Judge Nelson Wolff, Precinct 2 Commissioner Justin Rodriguez, and Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert on the court.

“Like I said, it’s always good to get in some new perspectives,” reiterated Commissioner Wolff, “and I’m sure that Rebeca and Trish will bring those to the table.”

Jade Esteban Estrada is a political columnist for the San Antonio Sentinel, where he covers election news for the San Antonio and Bexar County area. He’s also the Glitter Political columnist for the San Antonio Current. jade@sasentinel.com | Twitter: @getjaded