Two women join Bexar County Commissioners Court, marking first instance in decades

Rebeca ‘Becky’ Clay Flores and Trish DeBerry join male-dominated Commissioners Court

SAN ANTONIO – For the first time several decades, two women will join the male-dominated Bexar County Commissioners Court.

A program manager with Metro Health, Rebeca “Becky” Clay Flores, will represent Precinct 1 as the first woman of color on the Commissioners Court.

The precinct, which includes the west and south sides of San Antonio and Bexar County, will have a new commissioner for the first time in 15 years after Sergio “Chico” Rodriguez was unseated.

A marketing executive and small business owner for more than 20 years, Trish DeBerry will represent Precinct 3 on the north side, succeeding Kevin Wolff, who served three terms on the Commissioners Court.

Clay Flores, a Democrat, said she’s aware of the significance of her new role.

“My hope is that the work that I am about to embark upon ensures that I may be the first but not the last,” Flores said.

DeBerry, a Republican, said she also recognizes what her election means.

“But at the end of the day, I don’t want to be known for being a woman on the court,” DeBerry said. “I want to be known for being a great commissioner and bringing a small business wheelhouse to the table to really get things done and jumpstart the economy.”

Harvard and Princeton-educated, Clay Flores, a graduate of Brackenridge High School, said that in her youth, she and her family endured homelessness and poverty.

“It is these experiences that continue to fuel me to fight for a better life for the constituents of their county,” Flores said.

DeBerry has said her business prowess will help her in doing what she can as a county commissioner to assist small businesses decimated by the pandemic.

“I think that’s the most important thing that we can do as we recover from a global pandemic,” DeBerry said. “We need to do whatever we can to try to help those folks keep the doors open.”

Read also:

New Bexar County Precinct 3 commissioner commits to helping small business owners once sworn in

Commissioner-elect supports proposal for mental health care unit at Bexar County Jail


About the Authors:

Jessie Degollado has been with KSAT since 1984. She is a general assignments reporter who covers a wide variety of stories. Raised in Laredo and as an anchor/reporter at KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley, Jessie is especially familiar with border and immigration issues. In 2007, Jessie also was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.