SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio city council met Wednesday in its weekly "B" session, in the midst of new reports that one of their fellow council members may not have been completely honest about his call to active military duty.

The question is over whether Councilman Philip Cortez was called to active duty, or acting to advance his career.

Cortez announced two weeks ago he had been called to military service in the Air Force Reserve, on short notice, and urged the council appoint his fiancee, Leticia Cantu, as his interim replacement.

The council heeded his wishes, but Cantu on Wednesday confirmed Cortez was activated because he applied for an open position with the Air Force, and needed additional training.

"I haven't talked to Councilman Cortez," said Councilman John Clamp. "I probably won't talk to him until he gets back, but I think everyone's just a little bit disappointed."

Councilman Justin Rodriguez agreed.

"Sure, there's a little bit of disappointment that we weren't given the full story of how the circumstances played out," Rodriguez said. "I think we were all taken a little bit by surprise."

Cortez also came under fire in April 2008, pushing a zoning change through the council that violated the city's agreement with Toyota.

As for Cantu's appointment to stand in for Cortez, Cantu denies it's in any way a political maneuver.

"He applied for a position (and) was awarded the position, and so he was activated to attend the school to further enhance his education with the military to best serve his country," she said. "I'm just here to fill in. I just want to make sure that his projects that he's worked very diligently on are going to be moved forward."

Calls to Cortez's office were not returned Wednesday.

Cortez is a First Lieutenant with the 433rd Airlift Wing out of Lackland Air Base.

He told the council he would be reporting for two months of military service, then returning to his council duties.