Gilbert Garcia: City Council’s bizarre week culminates with Clayton Perry censure

City Council members never get standing ovations when they enter council chambers. But Clayton Perry got one Monday afternoon. What had the Northeast Side councilman recently done to earn such a show of support from attendees at Monday’s special council meeting? Well, on the night of Nov. 6, Perry apparently got drunk, took the wheel of his black Jeep Wrangler and caused a disturbance at a Bill Miller Bar-B-Q. Then he drove around a median barricade on Redland Road and smashed into a Honda Civic whose driver was waiting to make a left turn. Finally, he hot-tailed it out of there before he could get caught, swerved all over the road and sped through a stop sign before pulling into his home driveway and hitting his garage door. Three days after putting the lives of several San Antonians in danger, and with plenty of time to clear his head, Perry released a tepid statement apologizing for the “hassle” he had caused.

Sounds like he really deserved that standing ovation. Don’t get me wrong. We all make bad choices and we should all have the chance for redemption. Alcoholism is a disease and if Perry is afflicted with that disease, I hope he gets the help he needs. Perry served his country in the Air Force and has been a responsive councilman to his constituents. His worst moments don’t negate the positive things he has accomplished in his life. To his credit, on Monday, he fully accepted responsibility for the first time for his actions and acknowledged the passengers in the car he hit. In a statement that he read twice — at a noon press conference and two hours later at the council meeting — Perry said, “I humbly and respectfully ask for forgiveness.” Forgiveness is one thing. Adulation is another. And it was kind of sickening, in light of everything that’s happened over the past week-and-a-half, to see Perry receive a hero’s welcome. What if the two people in that Honda Civic had been killed or paralyzed by that head-on crash? Would those applauding constituents be feeling so sympathetic to the councilman? Monday was the culmination of the most bizarre week at City Hall since two council members were arrested by FBI agents in 2002 on federal bribery charges. It marked the second time in four days that council members approved a resolution censuring one of their own. Last Thursday, they took action against freshman Councilman Mario Bravo for his verbal attack against Councilwoman Ana Sandoval, his former romantic partner, shortly before a September budget vote by the council.