“He’s a senator and he wants to kill me!”
Those are the chilling words of the ex-wife of Texas Sen. Carlos Uresti calling 9-1-1 to report an episode of domestic violence. The audio of the 9-1-1 call was released by the American Phoenix Foundation after a long fight with the City of San Antonio over its confidentiality under the Public Information Act.
In November American Phoenix Foundation released undercover video showing Uresti, who is remarried, sharing a kiss with a registered lobbyist at an Austin bar and sharing a public restroom with a capitol staffer. Contained in that video was the image of a police report relating to Uresti’s 2007 divorce. The report noted an episode of domestic violence in which Uresti confronted his wife with a gun.
The report also noted that he was a state senator.
Now American Phoenix Foundation has gotten its hands on the audio of that 9-1-1 call and released it to the public. In the call, the former Mrs. Uresti begs police for protection from her husband, telling them that he has a gun and that he is going to kill her.
Uresti faced no charges following the call. According to the American Phoenix Foundation, during the divorce, Mrs. Uresti issued a statement claiming she overreacted. However, as APF’s Ben Wetmore notes, “listening to her voice on the call, she’s not acting.”
The audio was released only after an extended legal battle between American Phoenix Foundation and the City of San Antonio. According to the Foundation, the city initially claimed the audio did not exist and fought for months claiming the audio had been deleted. However, after the Office of Attorney General got involved, the audio was located and released.
Despite these dark facts in Uresti’s background, he has claimed the mantel of being a “pro-woman” candidate. On Twitter, the Uresti campaign brags about being the only candidate in his race endorsed by Planned Parenthood of America due to his “steadfast support of women’s health.” In an endorsement from the San Antonio Express News, the paper claims Uresti is “best known or his work championing improvements in the state’s beleaguered system for handling abused and neglected children.”
Uresti is facing San Antonio ISD Trustee Helen Madla in the March 1st Demcratic Primary. Madla is the widow of Uresti’s predecessor, former Sen. Frank Madla.
