San Antonio – Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran underwent an unspecified emergency surgery “this past month,” her office confirmed Thursday.
According to a brief news release from the District 3 council office, Viagran “will be working remotely and participating in all San Antonio City Council business virtually.”
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The release did not say when the surgery occurred or for what reason it was needed. A spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking further details.
“I appreciate the well-wishes and prayers during this time,” the news release quotes the South Side councilwoman as saying.
“The work of the District Three Council Office continues throughout this endeavor,” the district’s news release concludes. “The Councilwoman also expressed appreciation for privacy during this time.”
Viagran appeared virtually at Wednesday’s council meeting, her first since a Feb. 1 council meeting that she attended in person.
In between, a KSAT review of the city’s archive of meeting videos show Viagran was absent from four city council meetings and three committee meetings between Feb. 14 and Feb. 27.
She had also been expected to go on an “SA to DC” lobbying trip to the nation’s capital on Feb. 5-8, a city hall source told KSAT. However, a city spokesman confirmed she was one of two council members not to make the trip.
Asked Monday via text message about rumors regarding the councilwoman’s health and her absence from recent meetings, her chief of staff, Ruben Lizalde, had told KSAT “The CW (councilwoman) is good.”
In a phone call Thursday, Lizalde denied being misleading and said it had been a private matter and “this was out of my hands.”
He confirmed Viagran was supposed to be on the SA to DC trip more than three weeks earlier, but the issue had been around that time.
Lizalde told KSAT to email him any follow-up questions about the specifics of the surgery and the councilwoman’s expected recovery, which he said he would need to clear with her.
This article will be updated if the district responds to those questions.