SAN ANTONIO – An East Side San Antonio council district will make history again with its incoming, temporary council member.
City Council voted 10-0 to select Leo Castillo, a social media and marketing manager for Thrive Youth Center, to serve as the interim District 2 council member while Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez is out on his upcoming parental leave.
McKee-Rodriguez, who was the first openly gay man elected to the San Antonio City Council, believes Castillo will be the first openly transgender man to serve as a public official in Texas.
At least two transgender women have held public office in Texas before: former New Hope Mayor Jess Herbst and former Judge Phyllis Frye.
“Today is a huge win for our community and another reason to celebrate Pride Month,” McKee-Rodriguez said during the council meeting on Thursday. “At a time when our community is under attack, especially the trans community, this is going to be a — this was a historic vote."
“I think this just definitely highlights the fact that, you know, trans people are people, and we deserve every opportunity like anybody else,” Castillo told reporters afterward. “And so I’m just really excited to sit with that and celebrate that with my community.”
Castillo was sworn in after Thursday’s vote but will not officially take the seat until Aug. 1. McKee-Rodriguez is expected to return to the council by the end of September.
Castillo and McKee-Rodriguez met at the University of Texas at San Antonio almost nine years ago, and Castillo has been a political volunteer for McKee-Rodriguez.
“It’s just been really incredible just following Jalen along on his journey. And so I thought, ‘you know what, I think I’d be the best person to step up,’” he said.
McKee-Rodriguez said it “just so happens” that Castillo is a member of the LGBTQ+ community
“Leo’s been a very strong member of our community,” McKee-Rodriguez said. “He’s been an advocate who’s organized around many of the same issues that I’ve organized around, including public safety reform, civic engagement, and LGBTQIA rights.”
No-fuss appointment
Though 12 other people applied for the position, including several who had run against McKee-Rodriguez in the past, Castillo cruised to his appointment.
After a first round of short interviews on Wednesday, the council could have chosen up to three finalists for further consideration. But after just 15 minutes of closed-door discussion, they tapped Castillo as the lone finalist.
Thursday’s interview process took roughly 10 minutes before the council officially appointed Castillo as the interim council member.
District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur was away from her seat for the final vote, but she had supported his selection at Wednesday’s meeting.
Alicia Williams, McKee-Rodriguez’s director of constituent services, also told council members that the district staff preferred Castillo for the role, saying he had worked alongside the office “with consistency, humility, and deep care for the people of the district.”
These were the other applicants for the temporary position:
- Ruben Arciniega — Certification specialist, ran for D2 council seat in 2019
- Brian Benavidez — Owner of bike tour company
- Joseph Bravo — Former chief of staff for former D7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval
- Dori Brown — Accountant, ran for D2 council seat in 2021
- Chris Dawkins — President of marketing and advertising company, ran for D2 council seat in 2021
- Eric Estrada — Nonprofit executive director
- Anslem Gentle — Security consultant
- Jennifer Martinez — Financial services executive
- Stephen Parker — Retired, ran for city council in 1991
- Rose Requenez-Hill — Retired, president of Government Hill Alliance, ran for D2 council seat in 2023 and 2025
- Carla Sisco — IT business relationship manager, ran for D2 council seat in 2025
- Kizzie Thomas — Educator, ran for D2 council seat in 2025
Decision to take leave
McKee-Rodriguez and his husband are expecting their first child, a baby girl, in July, during the council’s traditional recess.
Shortly after his re-election, McKee-Rodriguez announced he planned to take eight weeks of parental leave in August and September.
That falls during the hectic city budget process, when council members hammer out the details of the city’s multi-billion-dollar spending plan. McKee-Rodriguez has said he wants his district to have a voice if he can’t be there full-time.
“And so for me, it was most important that District 2 have a stable voice that was most aligned with mine and that they know that they can trust and rely on. And so... I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from that,” he told KSAT of his decision to take leave..
The situation appears to be unique in the city’s history.
“We are not aware of any previous temporary appointment to fill a seat during parental leave,” city spokesman Brian Chasnoff told KSAT after McKee-Rodriguez’s initial announcement.
The last time a council member temporarily vacated their seat was former District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry in the wake of a 2022 drunken hit-and-run crash.
Just over two weeks after Perry went on a leave of absence, the council chose former Councilman Mike Gallagher to fill in for him, following a similar selection process. Gallagher ended up serving six weeks before Perry returned to finish out his term.
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