Councilman Greg Brockhouse plans to be a thorn in the side of the Tricentennial Commission on Tuesday, when he and other members of the council’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee will hear the commission’s first briefing since former CEO Edward Benavides resigned last week.

With only a few weeks left until the city’s yearlong celebration kicks off on New Year’s Eve, many at City Hall are trying to stay positive and look ahead.

If he has his way, though, Brockhouse will have none of that.

“I don’t know how you can be positive in this environment,” he said. “I don’t think you can with the absolute disaster this has become. It’s embarrassing to the community.”

Positivity, of course, is not Brockhouse’s strong suit.

Before ascending to the dais, he found his political voice in resisting major initiatives at City Hall. Pre-K 4 SA, the Vista Ridge water pipeline, council pay, San Antonio Water System rate hikes: Brockhouse fought them all, in some cases leading grass-roots movements in strident opposition.

Now that he’s on council, Brockhouse is expected to run for mayor in 2019, an ambition that would be served by exaggerating government dysfunction.

It’s also true that the Tricentennial, if not an “absolute disaster,” is deeply troubled.

Before Benavides resigned, he left a string of mismanaged contracts in his wake, including a media partnership that favored KSAT-TV, where his brother works as a producer. To Brockhouse, that justifies “freezing” all contracts issued under Benavides and subjecting them to an independent review.

“There are multiple other contracts,” Brockhouse said. “To me, every one of them is suspect. I think they need to be immediately reviewed.”

On Monday, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the Tricentennial effort must continue moving forward despite any errors of judgment under Benavides. Assistant City Manager Carlos Contreras, who was appointed interim CEO of the commission, is reviewing past bids, he said.

“Carlos is doing that work right now to ensure that everything has been done properly and ethically,” Nirenberg said. “And if there are concerns on that front, they will be dealt with. But my focus will be to ensure that the people at the table are working toward and are responsible for its success. That’s the only option that we do have. This is one moment that we have that we won’t get back again.

“Stopping time is not an option,” he added. “2018 will be upon us regardless of what happens. My No. 1 concern is that (the Tricentennial) is a successful one that honors our city’s past, present and future.”

The Tricentennial won’t be a success, of course, if planning grinds to a halt while officials pick it apart. The darkest interpretation of Brockhouse’s argument is that that’s exactly the outcome he wants — the better to run against a mayor with a “disaster” hanging around his neck.

Brockhouse waved that suspicion away.

“There will come a time in the future where Ron and I will discuss the future of San Antonio,” he said. “But that’s in the future. Right now, I think there needs to be accountability. … This is about City Hall to me, and how (City Manager) Sheryl (Sculley) runs the government. At some point, this goes to the top.”

On Monday, Councilman Roberto Treviño said the committee on Tuesday should focus on “helping the commission,” not investigating it.

“We have systems in place for that,” Treviño said. “It’s done through our audit committee.”

Treviño, who serves as chairman of the arts committee, is a member of the council’s Audit and Accountability Committee; Brockhouse is not.

“I have no issue with us taking a closer look, as he requested,” Treviño said. “He has my commitment on that should it be necessary. I don’t think right now, if we have questions, it’s enough to divert our attention away from what we need to do. … We need to stay focused on the big picture.”