Erik Walsh

Erik James Walsh was born on February 7, 1969, in San Antonio, Texas, the son of John Brendan Walsh and Irene Ramirez. His mother was a native of the city and of Mexican-American heritage, while his father was an immigrant from Ireland.[1] Walsh graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1987. He attended Trinity University, where he played for the football team and competed on the track & field teams.[2] He graduated in 1991 with a BA in political science with a minor in history.[2][3] Walsh received an MS degree in urban administration from the university in 1994.[4][5][6]

Walsh worked for the city office of management & budget starting in 1994.[7][8] He served as deputy city manager immediately preceding his assumption of the office of city manager on March 1, 2019.[9][10] Walsh was selected as city manager from a field of more than 30 candidates, including his superior Sheryl Sculley who had held the job for 13 years.[7][9] Sculley lost due to disagreements she had with the firemen's union, the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association. The union had supported the passage of two city charter amendments in 2018: one amendment limits the city manager tenure to eight years,[8] while the other caps the city manager compensation to no more than 10 times that of the lowest-paid full-time employees of the city, which as of 2019 placed his annual salary cap at $312,000.[9]

Walsh married Sandra Kiolbassa in 2003. Together they have two children.[9]