The idea comes as District Attorney Joe Gonzales is retiring<\/a> at the end of the year, and the future looks uncertain for some of his top lieutenants.<\/p>\n So far it\u2019s drawn quick condemnation from DA candidates, who say the move threatens a longstanding division of power between two separately elected offices.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t provide for checks and balances,\u201d said Luz Elena Chapa<\/a>, Democrats\u2019 nominee to succeed Gonzales in this November\u2019s midterm election. <\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want a county run by a county judge and commissioners court that have carte blanche, unchecked power to write and award contracts with no independent oversight or review,\u201d Chapa said.<\/p>\n Likewise, Republican candidate Ashley Foster<\/a> said the court had no legal authority to strip power from another elected office. <\/p>\n \u201cThe statute says those are the duties of the elected district attorney \u2014 they can\u2019t just change it,\u201d Foster said. \u201c\u2026 I would hope that this isn\u2019t for any sort of additional grab for power from the Commissioners Court.\u201d<\/p>\n The civil division of the District Attorney\u2019s office is currently overseen by Larry Roberson, who was first hired by former District Attorney Susan Reed, then left to work in the private sector, and later returned to serve under Gonzales. <\/p>\n His role involves working closely with county commissioners, some of whom say he could do even more if he worked for them directly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have so much interaction with Larry and the civil side, whether it\u2019s general counsel stuff related to Commissioners Court, or employment issues, or litigation updates,\u201d said Bexar County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez (Pct. 2). \u201cFor me, it just made sense to streamline it and have a group of lawyers that reported directly to the court.\u201d<\/p>\n But moving staff under an unelected leader \u2014 just months out from the arrival of a new District Attorney \u2014 has posed many legal questions.<\/p>\n Commissioner Grant Moody (Pct. 3) said at the Aug. 25 meeting that his attorney friends tell him such a move would require buy-in from the District Attorney.<\/p>\n \u201cHe fully supports it,\u201d Roberson said of Gonzales.<\/p>\n But the next DA might not feel the same way. <\/p>\n A bitter Democratic primary race pitted Chapa against many prosecutors<\/a> and a division chief currently working for Gonzales. She ran as an outsider with scathing assessments of their work<\/a>, and is now favored to carry the blue county in November.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll have a new DA on January 1,\u201d Moody said at the county budget presentation. \u201cHow do we think about that, in terms of making a structural change that has to continue to be approved by new DAs?\u201d<\/p>\n Roberson replied that the court didn\u2019t need permission for what Bexar County is trying to do.<\/p>\n The elected DA would retain all of their statutorily assigned responsibilities, he said, while passing off those that the Attorney General has already said can be handled by an attorney for the county.<\/p>\n \u201cThe DA will retain DA functional civil legal matters, protective orders, asset forfeitures, all of the civil matters that deal with the criminal side and DA functions specifically,\u201d Roberson said. \u201cThis is really about the civil matters that are specifically for the Commissioners Court.\u201d<\/p>\n As of this week, however, Rodriguez said it\u2019s an evolving situation.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BexarCountyDA_DistrictAttorneyDebate_DemocraticCandidates_Primary2026_21_02.03.2026_AmberEsparza-1.j.jpeg\")
Luz Elena Chapa, a former Fourth Court of Appeals justice, is shown at a Democratic primary debate hosted by the San Antonio Report and the Greater San Antonio Chamber at the Carver Community Cultural Center on Feb. 4. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n