San Antonio – The first person to enter — and drop out of — the race for San Antonio mayor has reversed course and jumped back in as the absolute last candidate.
Councilman John Courage (D9) applied for a place on the ballot a half-hour before the filing deadline on Friday. He became the 27th candidate vying to win the first mayor’s race without an incumbent since 2009.
Though another candidate came in after Courage, it was only to provide backup documentation for an already time-stamped application. Courage was technic the final Friday application in the jam-packed mayoral race.
Courage told reporters he was motivated to return mainly due to his concerns about other candidates, particularly those who are raising lots of money. “A lot” of that money, he said, is from outside the city or outside Texas.
“I’m really afraid that some people are looking to buy this office, that there’s money coming in from other areas. Special interests may have an interest in the mayor’s race and the City of San Antonio,” Courage said. “And I want to speak against that. I hope to educate the community about that.”
Courage confirmed he was talking about the top three fundraisers in the race: former congressional candidate and U.S. Air Force Undersecretary Gina Ortiz Jones, tech entrepreneur Beto Altamirano and former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos. Each of the race’s top fundraisers started the year with more than $132,000 in their war chests.
Campaign finance records show that out of mayoral candidates with at least $5,000 worth of contributions in 2024, those three had the lowest proportion of donations coming from within San Antonio.
Only 12% of Ortiz Jones’ contributions were from within San Antonio, including $6,800 she transferred in from her congressional campaign funds. However, her reported fundraising to date only covers a 27-day blitz at the end of 2024.
Altamirano and Pablos got 58% and 53%, respectively, of their contributions from San Antonio. Due to the size of their fundraising, though, they still raised the first and third largest amounts of money from within the city.
Courage also questioned their qualifications, calling Altamirano “Elon Musk Jr.” in an apparent reference to his tech background; Pablos a “puppet for (Gov. Greg Abbott),” and Ortiz Jones someone who “already lost the northwest part and the southwest part of San Antonio twice before.”
“I’ve worked in the city, done all kinds of work in all parts of this community,” Courage said. “And I don’t think any of the other candidates have the experience and the really down-to-earth understanding.“
KSAT has reached out to the three candidates for a comment on Friday night and are awaiting for a response.
In, out and back in again
The four-term, North Side councilman was the first to publicly announce his bid for mayor in January 2024. However, the 73-year-old dropped out of the race in December, citing his health and age.
Courage told reporters Friday that his health problems were never life-threatening and he feels “really good now.” His doctors, he said, had given him a “pretty good bill of health.”
After he dropped out, Courage put his support behind Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4) and appeared by her side when she filed for mayor on Jan. 15. Courage’s wife even donated $500 to Rocha Garcia’s campaign after his decision.
Courage said he gave a heads-up to Rocha Garcia, who texted KSAT a statement.
I’ve said this before. San Antonians have the opportunity to choose the candidate they feel will best represent, with so many options this election. I would hope that any community groups- whether yielding influence of their membership or contributing monetarily to candidates campaigns- will allow the voters to learn from ALL candidates so that they can decide who they want representing them as Mayor for the next four years. Councilman Courage rejoining the race gives them another option. I wish all candidates good luck and look forward to earning your vote, San Antonio. It’ll be your choice.
Adriana Rocha Garcia, District 9 Councilwoman & Mayoral Candidate
Courage is a retired teacher and U.S. Air Force veteran. He also served a four-year term on the Alamo Colleges District Board of Trustees.
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