San Antonio voters selected their mayor and city council representatives on Saturday. They also cast votes on Proposition A and a variety of education issues.
TPR is following the results as they stream in and are added to early vote totals, which were released at 7 p.m.
BALLOT INITIATIVE
Prop A’s ballot language is long and contains numerous criminal statutes. Voters can read the Prop A language in full here. The proposition, also known as the San Antonio Justice Charter, is a suite of criminal justice reforms. It would decriminalize abortion crimes and marijuana possession under four ounces, expand and codify cite-and-release policy, ban the use of no-knock warrants and chokeholds by SAPD, appoint a city justice director position to oversee city criminal justice policy, and establish language for an official “justice policy” of San Antonio.
SAN ANTONIO
Mayor Ron Nirenberg is seeking a fourth term in office. Nirenberg has won some close races in previous years but he does not face a strong challenge from the 10 candidates on the ballot. If Nirenberg wins, it will be his last term in office due to term limits.
City council
Embattled incumbent Mario Bravo has, for the most part, garnered a negative public perception following his outburst against District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval and censure from the city council. Bravo is seeking a second term after unseating Roberto Trevino in 2021 in a narrow run-off victory.
The District 1 race has nine candidates, which is often not seen until there is an open seat. But it’s not uncommon for first term incumbents to attract a number of challengers after their first term.
Sukh Kaur is a board member of Texas Public Radio. She told TPR she will not leave her board position to run for the City Council.
A crowded race in an East Side district that is prone to turnover. Incumbent Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, an educator and the first openly gay Black man to hold elected office in Texas, faces nine challengers for the council seat he won in 2021.
McKee-Rodriguez won in 2021 after a crowded May election with 12 candidates and wide victory in a June runoff against his former boss, Jada Andrews Sullivan.
The district again faces a packed race with 10 candidates — one of larger contests on the ballot in 2023.
Three people are challenging District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran in San Antonio’s largest city council district. Viagran is running for her second term in office after winning the seat vacated by her sister, Rebecca Viagran, in 2021, due to term limits. Hoping to unseat Phyllis Viagran to represent the Southside district are Erin Gallegos Reid, Larry La Rose and Jayden Mu?oz.
A cloud will hang over the race to represent District 4. The election is the same week the district’s 40-year old hospital, Texas Vista Medical Center, closed, exacerbating what many call a public health crisis in the medically underserved area. The incumbent in District 4, Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia, is calling for greater health care access on the South Side. Her opponent in the race is Gregorio De La Paz, who works in construction management.
Councilwoman Teri Castillo seeks a second term representing the West Side district. Castillo is known for championing progressive policies on the council with a background in local organizing.
Castillo faces two opponents. She defeated Rudy Lopez in a runoff two years ago. Lopez is a former civilian employee with the San Antonio Police Department. She also faces Arturo Espinosa.
Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda seeks a second term to represent the Far West Side district. The attorney owns her own practice and has worked for the city in a number of capacities over the past 20 years. Cabello Havrda faces two opponents that she defeated in 2021 — small business owner Irina Rudolph and Chris Baecker, an accountant who also teaches economics.
When District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval resigned in January, it created an unexpected open seat. There are five candidates, and there would have likely been more if candidates had more time to prepare and fundraise.
Marina Alderete Gavito comes from the politically powerful Alderete family and is the daughter of former Councilman Joe Alderete. She is the executive director of SA Digital Connects.
Dan Rossiter is a former a program manager at Southwest Research Institute. He quit his job to run for the seat. He has previously served on Brooks Development Authority Board and on one of the city’s 2022 bond committees.
Sandragrace Martinez is a licensed professional counselor with a masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from St. Mary’s University, according to her campaign biography.
Andrew “AJ” Luck is a Navy veteran with a law degree and masters in public administration, also from St. Mary’s University.
Jacob B. Chapa listed his profession as a legal assistant on his city council filing documents.
Councilman Manny Pel?ez is seeking a fourth term representing the city’s Northwest side. Pel?ez is an attorney who has represented a wide range of clients in San Antonio, from homeowners associations to Toyota Manufacturing. He faces Cesario Garcia, the owner of a video production company.
District 9 Councilman John Courage seeks a fourth term in the conservative North Side district. The 71-year-old is a former teacher and military veteran and one of the more moderate voices on the council. He faces three opponents — Dominique Liu (CEO of Dominion Strategies), Jarett Lipman (a former band director at Johnson High School), and David Allan Lara (works in facility management and building operations at the Bexar County Courthouse and Justice Center).
District 10 is an extremely competitive race. It is one of two districts without an incumbent running and the only district that has consistently kept a conservative on the city’s left leaning council over the past decade.
The race became competitive after Councilman Clayton Perry was arrested on a driving while intoxicated charge in connection with a hit-and-run collision that occurred on Nov. 6. While Perry fights the charges, the race to replace him now includes seven contenders.
The frontrunner is attorney Marc Whyte. He has the endorsement of Perry and of several past D10 council members. The St. Mary’s Law grad has served on the city’s Historic Design and Review Commission for the past few years.
Other candidates include: Richard Otley Jr., an NEISD school teacher; Joel Solis, a retiree; Madison Gutierrez, a social media advertiser; Margaret Sherwood, a property manager; and Robert Flores, who described himself as an administrator.
EDUCATION
Seven school districts located primarily or partially in Bexar County also held elections on Saturday.
Five school districts in the San Antonio area asked voters to approve bonds.
Most Bexar County school districts included their elections in the joint ballot available at any county polling station.
However, Southwest ISD’s measures were on a separate ballot with separate polling stations. La Vernia ISD is located in neighboring Wilson County. The polling station for the district’s bond election is La Vernia Church of Christ.
RIO GRANDE VALLEY
Voters in the Rio Grande Valley also cast ballots on Saturday, including decisions on mayors in Pharr and Brownsville and a county commissioners race in the McAllen area.
Voters in the Rio Grande Valley also cast ballots on Saturday, including decisions on mayors in Pharr and Brownsville and a county commissioners race in the McAllen area.