Express-News | ExpressNews.com | Saturday, May1,2021 | A13 FROM THE COVER

became heroes for the first re- Prosecutors also said Croft SENTENCED sponders and law enforcement laundered the money on personal From page A1 agencies which they served. expenses, including a luxury mo- “Their history of drug seizures tor home, jet skis and a penile im- him to pay restitution. and arrests is nothing short of fan- plant, and lied on his tax forms “Brad Croft is not the menace tastically successful. The govern- about his income. he is being made out to be,” ment failed to produce any stu- Ezra found Croft guilty on all McCrum said. “I’m sad for Croft dent veteran to state that they had charges: eight counts of wire and his daughter, but relieved in been bamboozled or defrauded, fraud, four counts of aggravated the fairness that Judge Ezra not a single one,” McCrum said. identity theft, two counts of mon- showed in considering what his At the 2019 trial, witnesses said ey laundering and two counts of sentence should be.” Croft wrongly used the identities filing a false tax return. McCrum said Croft fought of four dog trainers without their Croft changed lawyers after the through a bitter divorce but won permission to convince the trial, and, in a motion for a new custody of his daughter, then Veterans Commission to accept trial, he argued that evidence ob- tried to start a business from his application for a Veterans Af- tained after his conviction scratch for them that would also fairs Department program that al- showed that the trainers had giv- “do positive things for deprived lowed veterans to use their GI Bill en him permission to use their in- animals and for the community.” benefits to pay for school. formation. Ezra this week denied Croft’s lawyers said he had Prosecutors said one of the the motion, declaring that the in- bought a motor home and parked trainers had been dead for two formation was not new or was im- it on the dusty commercial lot years and that the other three had material. near Loop 1604 and Interstate 10 William Luther /Staff file photo either disagreed with Croft’s busi- Croft sought a pardon last year as he navigated the red tape to A handler moves a dog in August 2018 to an Animal Care ness model or ceased contact from former President Donald launch his training school, which Services vehicle at Universal K9, which federal agents raided. with him by the time he submit- Trump. He never got it. included using rescue or shelter ted their names as part of the ap- dogs. He was remodeling a build- “Universal K9 was real, and the passed through (Universal K9) plication process. They never guillermo.contreras ing for his school when the feds training of dogs and handlers was were not only saved from a sure gave him permission to use their @express-news.net | Twitter: raided the business, McCrum genuine,” McCrum argued to the and ultimate destruction, they names or certificates, prosecu- @gmaninfedland said. judge. “The hundreds of dogs that were also transformed into and tors said.

ly partisan, we would go the way son, a crusty liberal. “But there’s NONPARTISAN of Austin and Washington, and often partisanship in deciding From page A1 that’s not who we are,” Archer where that street will go.” None- said. “For the 20 years I’ve been theless, he remains a big fan of such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, involved here, there is almost an nonpartisan municipal elections. Indianapolis, Washington, D.C., or immediate pivot on the day after As does Kevin Wolff, a former New York, you may be wondering the election to, ‘How can we get Bexar County commissioner for 12 why our city and school board down to running the city?’” years and a City Council member elections are nonpartisan. That might be why, for many for four, a man who almost lowers It’s because Texas, like many San Antonio politicians, the cloak his voice when he describes him- other states, generally requires lo- of nonpartisanship comes in self as a moderate Republican. cal elections to be free of party af- handy for deflecting uncomfort- “I would say our political party filiation, though nothing prevents able questions about political system has worked well,” said candidates from identifying them- identity, such as who they voted Wolff, son of Bexar County Judge selves by party in their campaign for in the last presidential contest. Nelson Wolff, a longtime Demo- literature and speeches. Greg Brockhouse, a former San crat. “But there is a divide in our By contrast, races for governor, Antonio city councilman in his country now that harkens back to lieutenant governor, attorney gen- second race to oust Mayor Ron Ni- William Luther /Staff file photo the Civil War, and it is only widen- eral and other statewide offices in renberg, has run a nearly textbook Incumbent and former City Councilman Greg ing and deepening. You court di- Texas are partisan, with candi- Republican campaign built on Brockhouse are the big names in today’s mayoral election. saster when you govern by the ex- dates nominated by parties. So are “faith, freedom and family,” and tremes, and if you codify that in elections for district attorney, he mocks President Joe Biden in Getting rid of partisanship was more of their own research and re- the local election process, you on- county commissioner and other stump speeches and podcasts. But an artifact of the Progressive Era ly less on party propaganda. ly make a bad decision worse.” county offices. he refused in a recent interview to and often came in tandem with cit- Historically, nonpartisan elec- He said part of the reason he San Antonio enshrined the non- disclose whether he voted for ies’ moving to a council-city man- tions have lower overall voter chose not to run for Congress was partisan municipal election in 1951 Trump or Biden in November. ager system of government, ex- turnout. Republican and Demo- that he was tired “of having the in its charter. Texas’ larger home- “That’s national politics,” plained David Crockett, chair of cratic activists have long argued crap beat out of me by both sides. rule cities are legally allowed to Brockhouse said. “I’m in a non- the political science department that the absence of party labels At the local level, if you are ratio- abandon that practice, but it partisan race.” at Trinity University (and yes, a can confuse voters and that with- nal, you can actually accomplish hasn’t happened here. Nirenberg, whose policy prefer- distant relative of the Alamo hero.) out those cues, some will be influ- some things. Partisan divisions in this coun- ences and rhetoric often place him The idea was to restore civility enced by candidates’ perceived “I am scared for the stability of try have been intensifying for de- solidly among Democrats, ducked to the often-caustic world of poli- ethnicity. our country after watching the cades. Vast swaths of Americans asimilar line of questioning from tics, but some thought that was lit- Into this debate, the larger par- people who stormed the U.S. Capi- choose friends, neighborhoods, the San Antonio Express-News. tle more than a polite veneer, like tisan divide in the tol. I’m blaming the party system, churches and bowling leagues But it would be wrong to sug- spraying air freshener on a stock- has been steadily encroaching. not just the Dems or Republicans. based on political views. gest that these and other local pol- yard. “George W. Bush was the most Ihope the middle will ... make Presidential historians and cul- iticians never take sides on divi- In Texas, the nonpartisan elec- polarizing president in polling his- some noise,” Wolff said. tural arbiters say the polarization sive national issues such as abor- tion framework was marketed as a tory, until Obama, and then He said it would be a “huge mis- reached a high point during the tion, immigration policy, corpo- way to bring a more efficient, busi- Trump,” Crockett said, and many take” for the Legislature to pass presidency of Donald Trump, es- rate taxation or Trump’s baseless nesslike culture to cities. Control local politicians have downplayed House Bill 2092, introduced by pecially the 2020 election season. claims that fraud robbed him of re- remained with white male busi- their party affiliation to avoid the Rep. Scott Sanford, a Dallas-area “Nationally, the fight between election. ness elites — often Democrats be- risk courting partisan revulsion. Republican, requiring candidates partisans is absolutely in the sew- Nirenberg, for example, ac- fore the 1990s, often Republicans Tucker Gibson, a Trinity Uni- for municipal office to declare a er,” said Christian Archer, a politi- knowledges he mostly votes for afterward. versity professor emeritus of polit- party affiliation. cal strategist who has worked on Democrats, and he has backed la- The National League of Cities ical science and author of several Requiring that, Wolff said, numerous campaigns in San Anto- bor unions, LGBTQ rights and suggests that nonpartisan elec- books on Texas politics, likes to would only encourage candidates nio. “But there is no reason there peaceful Black Lives Matter pro- tions may produce more coopera- put a spin on the most frequently who have mastered the skill set of should not be civility when it tests. tion between officials and perhaps heard cliché in support of nonpar- getting elected, not that of govern- comes to building and protecting But he rarely speaks the “D” less political campaign spending. tisan local elections: “There’s no ing. our neighborhoods.” word in public in any partisan Other advocates say nonpartisan partisan way to pave a street.” If San Antonio “were to go total- sense. elections encourage voters to do “That may be true,” said Gib- [email protected]

investigation, reuniting with her JUDGE RETIRES six children, and the parents she From page A1 and her husband now are helping. “He is an amazing judge. He al- Originally from Cuba, Garcia ways goes for what’s right, and was raised in Connecticut, lived in what’s fair,” she told the group. “I Miami and came to San Antonio to appreciate all the years and every- attend law school at St. Mary’s thing he has done for us.” University, graduating in 1979.A Barbara Schafer, a Children’s month later, he married his wife, Court program administrator, has Letty. spent her entire career working “We went back to Miami, I got for Garcia. licensed in Miami and I didn’t “He walked me through as a 26- know you couldn’t take the girl year-old to a 46-year-old,” she out of Texas, so we came back,” he said. “Now, at 46, he trusts me said. “This is home.” with the work, and the kids. He is Garcia worked for Bexar Coun- acaring spirit.” ty Legal Aid once they returned. Becky Snodgrass, Children’s He was a lawyer in private practice Court program manager, said she for about four years, then joined appreciated how Garcia always the Bexar County District Attor- began each day with a clean slate ney’s Office’s Child Protective Ser- and doled out words of wisdom vices Division in 1988. and knowledge of the law, some- In February 1990, district judg- times over coffee as they dis- es appointed Garcia to the bench cussed the hard cases and the to handle family law matters. He easy ones. They don’t all have was assigned to the Children’s happy endings. Court in 2005. “Kids get heard in his court,” Whoever succeeds Garcia “has Lisa Krantz /Staff photographer Snodgrass said. “There’s not a kid big shoes to fill,” said Judge Peter Children’s Court Judge Richard Garcia tosses binders of papers he no longer needs as he packs that never got the attention that Sakai, who presides over the up his office at the Bexar County Courthouse. He was assigned to the Children’s Court in 2005. wasn’t his own.” 225th. Garcia and his wife have plans “Associate judges have to be peats to each parent and child best to get them out of the fire.” counters ended with voices crack- to travel and visit their children workhorses,” Sakai said. “They who comes before him. Garcia’s last few weeks were ing in an attempt to stifle crying, and grandchildren. But soon, he have to work well beyond 40 “You’re not defined by your filled with Zoom court proceed- as others wiped away their own said, he hopes to be put back to hours, hearing cases, filing or- past anymore. Your past is gone,” ings. tears. work, possibly as a visiting judge. ders, even taking calls in the mid- he told recent graduates of Early When he presided over a recent One of them was Monique Gon- At his final adoption hearings, dle of the night and fulfilling the Childhood Court, an intervention swearing-in for new volunteers zalez, who met Garcia when she the judge joked with the parents needs of the children.” program geared toward helping for Child Advocates San Antonio, and her husband lost their chil- that he will name their child after Sakai touted Garcia for his tire- families and children who have 53 people on the call identified dren in 2005 for eight months afamous baseball player or dic- less attention to children’s mat- been in the CPS system. “You are themselves as “GARCIA FAN.” when their daughter’s dermatitis tate their future college. He urged ters. now God’s masterpiece, a new On Friday, a drop-in Zoom to was mistaken for child abuse. To- the kids to stay with mom and dad “He has brought a depth and a creation today defined by your say goodbye, coordinated by day, because of Garcia, Gonzalez at least until they turn 37. work ethic to the bench that has success. That takes courage.” Becky Snodgrass, one of his case and her husband, Jose “Adrian” “I could do these real fast, but served the citizens of Bexar Coun- To Garcia, presiding over CPS managers, attracted almost 100 Alvarado, run Parents Informing it’s the best part of my job, so I ty well.” cases is a hard but important job. people. Judges, lawyers, case Parents, a local group tied to the stretch it out a little longer to enjoy Afaithful man who begins each The question is always, “What managers, parents, children — statewide Parent Collaboration the moment,” Garcia said. day reading Scripture, Garcia said more can we do?” he said. even Garcia’s son, daughter and Group. “Thanks so much for making a he believes his career was a calling “The thing that keeps you going grandchildren — tuned in to tell Gonzalez mentors the mothers, home. God bless you for doing from God to protect the most vul- is, ‘I am going to pull this kid out of the judge he inspired them, al- while Alvarado guides the fathers. this, and lastly, send me a pic- nerable — children. the fire the best I can, one at a ways listened to them, was always When she heard Garcia would ture.” He refers to them as “my kids,” time,’” he said. “You can’t do respectful, had done the right retire, “I cried like a baby,” Gon- while inspiring their parents to be them all at once, but you can do thing. zalez told the judge Friday. She re- [email protected] | better. “Don’t give up,” Garcia re- them one by one, and do your Many of these last online en- called her journey through a CPS Twitter: @elizabeth2863