Phil Hardberger
Phil Hardberger | |
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![]() | |
Mayor of San Antonio | |
In office June 7, 2005 – June 1, 2009 | |
Preceded by | Ed Garza |
Succeeded by | Julian Castro |
Personal details | |
Born | Phillip Duane Hardberger[1] (1934-07-27) July 27, 1934 (age 90) Morton, Texas, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Linda Morgan (m. 1968) |
Children | 2 |
Education |
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Profession | Judge Attorney |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Years of service | 1955–1958 |
Rank | Captain |
Battles/wars | Cold War |
Phillip Duane Hardberger (born July 27, 1934) is an American politician and lawyer who served as mayor of San Antonio, taking office in June, 2005. A Democrat, he was elected on a non-partisan ballot.
Life and career
Military career
After Baylor, Hardberger was a captain in the United States Air Force and piloted the B-47 bomber. He was the executive secretary of the Peace Corps during the administration of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. He was a special assistant to the director of the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity under President Lyndon B. Johnson.[3]
In 1968, he married the former Linda Morgan, who in 1956 survived the sinking of the SS Andrea Doria. He would then be appointed Associate Justice and then Chief Justice of the Fourth Court of Appeals. As chief justice, he presided over the Littleton v. Prange case, invalidating marriages in the court's jurisdiction if the transgender partner is of the same birth sex.[4] It simultaneously also opened the option for some same-sex couples to marry as long as the two partners were assigned to the opposite sex at birth.[5] He and Linda had two daughters, Amy and Kimberlea.
Political career
Hardberger's decision to run for mayor in the fall of 2004 was somewhat of a surprise because no one without a city council background had been elected mayor of San Antonio in modern history. He defeated Councilman Julian Castro, his ultimate successor as mayor, in a runoff on June 7, 2005. Hardberger himself succeeded Ed Garza, who was prohibited by city statute from serving more than two two-year terms.[citation needed]
He was in office during the fall of 2005 when the New Orleans Saints were displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina and set up their operations in San Antonio. The 2005 season was split between the Alamodome in San Antonio and LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. Various media reports in the San Antonio Express-News indicated the owner and government officials in San Antonio were working behind the scenes concerning a possible permanent relocation to San Antonio. Hardberger pushed a strong verbal campaign to pursue the Saints. Other officials, including then-Texas Governor Rick Perry, had indicated they would also support a relocation to San Antonio, including using funding to upgrade the Alamodome, or possibly build a new stadium.
It is disputed in some circles as to the amount of discussions that happened between Mayor Hardberger and the New Orleans Saints. According to the San Antonio Express-News, Mayor Hardberger encouraged Saints owner Tom Benson to sue the NFL and commissioner Paul Tagliabue to try to keep the team in San Antonio permanently.[6] No lawsuit was ever filed. Hardberger hasn't given up hope on another professional sports team even though the Saints have returned to New Orleans when he said, "Sometimes dates do lead to marriage proposals. We don't have to be a one-franchise town."[7] Hardberger went on to say,"I'm going to support the county judge on this Marlins thing," Hardberger says. "But I have not changed my mind about the NFL. Baseball is a great game. But there isn't any doubt in my mind that, if we're going to take on an additional professional franchise, the great majority of people here would like a football team."..."I am absolutely certain that we will wind up with an NFL team in the next few years. It is coming, and if it's not the Saints, it will be somebody else."[citation needed] At the time Hardberger was first elected the city had been in talks with Major League Soccer to bring a franchise to the city as part of the league's continued expansion plans. Hardberger put an end to the talks, stating "Goodbye. That's what I would tell MLS," contending that the deal did not make financial sense for San Antonio.[8]
Hardberger was re-elected in May 2007[9] and completed his term in May 2009. One of his final acts as Mayor was to garner support to change the city's mayoral term limits from two to four two-year terms. He garnered 77% of the vote during his re-election in 2007 and left the mayor's office at the end of his second term with an approval rating of 86 percent.[10]
During his two terms in office he was instrumental in leading San Antonio's response to Katrina and Rita victims, growing San Antonio's park space with the acquisition of Voelcker Park and the new San Antonio River expansion, starting Haven for Hope as a new city facility for San Antonio's growing homeless population, and setting the city on the road to being recognized as a green city as a result of its Mission Verde initiative.[11][12] He was responsible for redeveloping Main Plaza to restore the city's original downtown center of government and society (dating to Spanish territorial days) and for bringing on Sheryl Sculley as City Manager.[13]
After mayorship
In December 2009, in recognition of the former mayor's leadership and foresight in championing quality of life projects, the City of San Antonio announced it was changing the name of Voelcker Park to Phil Hardberger Park.[14]
In January 2010, Hardberger became a shareholder at Cox Smith,[15] the largest law firm in San Antonio and one of the leading business law firms in Texas. He supports the firm's Litigation,[16] Appellate,[17] Public Law[18] and Economic Development practices, and is actively involved in the firm's external affairs and community relations.[10] Hardberger said he plans to continue working on issues surrounding the city's River Walk expansion, development of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center and completion of Phil Hardberger Park off Blanco Road.[19]
As a former mayor, but not a registered lobbyist, Hardberger in 2017 advocated successfully[20] for Lake Assault Boats of Superior, Wisconsin, to obtain a $6.2 million contract to build sightseeing boats for the San Antonio River Walk.[21] He was retained as an attorney for the Chicago-area firm in December 2016.
Hardberger's role in representing Lake Assault Boats brought him into conflict with Mayor Ivy Taylor, who claimed a conflict of interest "tainted beyond redemption" in the selection of the company. One of Taylor's mayoral opponents, city council member Ron Niremberg, however, charged her with "changing the rules in the middle of the process to rig the outcome." Taylor had favored retention of the local contract company, Rio San Antonio Cruises.[20]
References
- ^ Baird, Mike (April 27, 2007). "SA mayor: Keep bayfront beautiful". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ^ Contreras, Guillermo (2015-08-28). "Phil Hardberger one of city's most popular mayors". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
- ^ Peirce, Steve A. (2022-08-01). "The Cotton-Picking, Plane-Flying, Boat-Sailing, Mountain-Climbing, Trial-Lawyering, Case-Judging, City-Mayoring, Tree-Hugging Adventures of Phil Hardberger". San Antonio Lawyer. No. July–August 2022. San Antonio Bar Association.
- ^ "Copy of Littleton v. Prange". Christielee.net. Archived from the original on 2013-04-04. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ "Some Gay Marriages Legal in Texas". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ MySA.com: Columnists Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ MySA.com: Editorials Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Major League Soccer ends talks with San Antonio". Usatoday.Com. 2005-06-09. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ MySA.com: Politics Archived May 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Business development, quality of life, top priorities for Hardberger in his new role". Sanantonio.bizjournals.com. 2009-12-16. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ "Hardberger's impact historic, leaders say - San Antonio Business Journal". Sanantonio.bizjournals.com. 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ "madeinsatx.com". madeinsatx.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-25. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Rodriguez, Ken. "Privately courted Sculley expected to be the next city manager", San Antonio Express News, August 29, 2005.
- ^ [1] Archived December 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "coxsmith.com". coxsmith.com. 2013-07-01. Archived from the original on 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ [2] Archived May 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Texas Appellate Attorneys". Coxsmith.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ "Public Law - Cox | Smith". Coxsmith.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ "Ex-mayor going back to work as a lawyer". wayback.archive-it.org. Archived from the original on 2009-12-17.
- ^ a b Brian Chasnoff, "Charges fly in scandal over city contract", San Antonio Express-News, February 25, 2017, pp. 1, A2.
- ^ Mark Reilly (January 11, 2017). "Superior boat builder lands $6.2 million contract with San Antonio". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
External links
- Mayor's page
Preceded by | Mayor of San Antonio, Texas 2005-2009 | Succeeded by |
- v
- t
- e
- The Alamo
- Alamo Cenotaph
- Acequia Madre de Valero
- La Antorcha de la Amistad
- Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower
- Cathedral of San Fernando
- Convention Center
- Earl Abel's
- Guenther House
- HemisFair '68
- Houston Street
- La Villita
- Market Square
- Rivercenter
- River Walk
- St. Joseph Catholic Church
- Tower of the Americas
- Tower Life Building
- San Antonio Zoo and Aquarium
- Artpace
- Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum
- Briscoe Western Art Museum
- Buckhorn Saloon & Museum
- Casa Navarro State Historic Site
- Fort Sam Houston Museum
- Gallista
- Gas Gallery
- Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center
- Guinness World Records Museum
- Institute of Texan Cultures
- McNay Art Museum
- Museo Alameda
- Museum of Aerospace Medicine
- O. Henry House Museum
- Ruby City
- San Antonio Academy Museum
- San Antonio Museum of Art
- Southwest School of Art
- Spanish Governor's Palace
- Edward Steves Homestead
- Texas Air Museum
- Texas Transportation Museum
- United States Army Medical Department Museum
- Witte Museum
- Yturri-Edmunds Historic Site
See also: List of museums in Central Texas
- Alamo City Comic Con
- Arneson River Theater
- Aztec on the River
- Charline McCombs Empire Theatre
- Fiesta Noche del Rio
- Fiesta San Antonio
- Freeman Coliseum
- Majestic Theatre
- Morgan's Wonderland
- Ripley's Believe It or Not!
- San Japan
- Santikos Theatres
- SeaWorld San Antonio
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas
- Splashtown San Antonio
- St. Mary's Strip
- Texas Folklife Festival
- Tobin Center for the Performing Arts (San Antonio Symphony)
- San Antonio Municipal Auditorium
- Woodlawn Theatre
- Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Enterprises
- Christus Santa Rosa
- iHeartMedia
- Frost Bank
- H-E-B
- Jim's Restaurants
- Luby's
- M7 Aerospace
- NewTek
- NuStar Energy
- Rackspace
- San Antonio Express-News
- SAS Shoemakers (SAS)
- San Antonio Water System
- Security Service Federal Credit Union
- SWBC
- Taco Cabana
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas
- USAA
- Valero Energy
- Visionworks of America
- Whataburger
and education
- The Alamo Colleges
- Baptist Health System School of Health Professions
- Cancer Therapy & Research Center
- Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute
- Oblate School of Theology
- Our Lady of the Lake University
- San Antonio Public Library
- San Antonio Municipal Archives
- South Texas Medical Center
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute
- Southwest Research Institute
- St. Mary's University
- Texas A&M University–San Antonio
- Texas Neurosciences Institute
- Trinity University
- University Health System
- University of the Incarnate Word
- University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
- University of Texas at San Antonio
- Acequia
- San Antonio Botanical Garden
- Brackenridge Park
- Denman Estate Park
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Park
- Friedrich Wilderness Park
- Government Canyon State Natural Area
- Phil Hardberger Park
- Mahncke
- Milam Park
- Miraflores Park
- Roosevelt Park
- San Antonio Japanese Tea Garden
- San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
- San Pedro Springs Park
- O. P. Schnabel Park
- Travis Park