San Angelo Mayor Gunter: The Interview Part 1 "Responding to Calamity"

SAN ANGELO, TX — Mayor Brenda Gunter served through the toughest term in history, at least since the pandemic of 1919. In addition to taking the responsibility for business shutdowns that were ordered by Governor Greg Abbott, she became the spokeswoman for the combined city and county for the response.

“Wash your hands, social distance, wear a mask…” became her common mantra since the bars were ordered closed on March 20, 2020. Gunter was hated and loved at the same time, but from her position, she became the lightning rod for complaints.

“Everybody thought I had the authority to shut businesses down and they blamed me when they were,” Gunter said.

In the first portion of our interview, Gunter offers an inside look at what went on behind the scenes and reveals how well she believes San Angelo performed during the pandemic.

Then, as the Covid-19 cases began to drop, a brand new crisis hit the city: water contamination. Back in February, a concoction of benzene, acetone, and naphthalene entered the City of San Angelo Water Utilities’ pipes on the northeast side of town forcing every water customer to stop using the water for a time period. Then, just as the contamination mostly cleared, and most of San Angelo could use the water again, a freeze of historic proportions happened when a norther blew into Texas on Valentine’s Day. The City water system took another hit when broken pipes, frozen water, and electrical failures diminished the water distribution system’s pressure to the point that some in San Angelo went a week without running water. Businesses closed and the local economy nearly halted.

Gunter describes how the $120 million Hickory aquifer project saved the City’s water system. Without it, she said, the city would have been without water for weeks, not days.

Watch the first part of an exclusive interview by San Angelo LIVE! publisher Joe Hyde with Mayor Gunter above.

This is a 3-part series. The other parts:

• Mayor Brenda Gunter Interview Part 1 "Responding to Calamity"  (You are here)
• Mayor Brenda Gunter Interview Part 2 "The Entrepreneurial Spirit of San Angelo"
• Mayor Brenda Gunter Interview Part 3 "Infrastructure!"