Bexar County DA candidate accuses current DA Joe Gonzales of verbally assailing her

Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales speaks to reporters. Credit: Michael Karlis

Retiring Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales was captured on video over the weekend engaging in a verbal confrontation with Luz Elena Chapa, one of the fellow Democrats seeking to fill his office.

The confrontation happened Saturday morning at a Northwest Democrats meeting that offered Chapa and run-off rival Jane Davis a forum to discuss their candidacies and visions for the office Gonzales is leaving.

Video obtained by the Current shows Gonzales breaking into Chapa’s remarks to endorse Davis. During the interruption, the DA also accuses Chapa of misrepresenting the challenges faced by his office. Former San Antonio city councilman Greg Brockhouse posted a similar clip of the incident on the Facebook page for his podcast.

“Don’t point your finger at me,” Chapa is heard saying the video.

“I can point — you’re not on the bench anymore,” Gonzales fires back.

Gonzales continues: “Listen to me … I am respectfully asking you, Judge, that you give correct information and not do what you’ve done during this entire debate.”

During the exchange, the DA also attacked Chapa for her lack of prosecutorial experience, according to a NEWS 4 SA report.

The Bexar County DA’s office did not immediately respond to the Current’s request for comment. However, Chapa wasted no time in accusing Gonzales of unleashing an inappropriate tirade.

“This morning, I was verbally attacked and berated in public by Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales,” Chapa said in a statement.

“Today, I felt compelled to not only stand up for myself and my daughters, but also for every woman in Bexar County who has felt powerless and voiceless in our justice system.”

Over recent months, Chapa and other critics have assailed Gonzales over the DA office’s large backlog of criminal cases — including thousands of domestic violence cases — and for overcrowding issues at the Bexar County Jail.

“To be clear, as DA and under my leadership, I guarantee every victim of domestic abuse and family violence will be seen and heard; the huge backlog of these cases will be tackled immediately,” Chapa said in her statement. “Victims deserve justice that has been denied to them for years. Bexar County deserves better. Change is coming, and the days of complacency are over.”

On the flip side, political opponents and the Express-News Editorial Board have scrutinized Chapa, a former justice on the Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals, for her lack of experience prosecuting criminal cases. Some on her party’s progressive wing also accuse her of cozying up to law enforcement unions, including the San Antonio Police Officers’ Association and the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of Bexar County.

Meanwhile, Davis, who currently runs the office’s juvenile division, has snapped up the endorsements of five of her previous opponents in the Democratic primary along with the AFL-CIO. Last week, she pledged to prosecute Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who break the law while on duty in Bexar County.

In her own response released over the weekend, Davis tried to distance herself from the verbal fireworks between Gonzales and Chapa.

“This incident should not detract from the fact that I am the better-qualified candidate for District Attorney,” Davis said. “I have 40-plus years of experience working in the district attorney’s office, and Luz Elena Chapa has none.”

The winner of the May 26 runoff will take on Republican Ashley Foster in the general election.

Bexar County DA candidate accuses current DA Joe Gonzales of verbally assailing her

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