This is a year of change for the leadership of San Antonio.

On May 3rd, voters will elect a new mayor for this seventh largest city in the country.

Ron Nirenberg has been our mayo for the last eight years.

And because of term limits, there is now an open seat.

That's a big decision for the people of our community, our future for the next four years.

And by the way, this is the first time ever we elect a mayor for a four year term.

We'll be guided by the person you elect.

Welcome.

I'm Henry Cisneros.

And in the next hour, I want you to meet eight candidates who want to be your next mayor.

I want you to hear what they have to say, how they want to shape our city, and what they bring to the table.

There are 27 candidates in the mayoral race at this time, and we're focusing on eight of those candidates.

Our decision to profile these eight is based on three factors.

The results of a poll from the UTSA center for Public Opinion Research, indices of name recognition and fundraising efforts.

All three are key drivers in any political race, and they'll determine who is truly a viable candidate.

Let's talk about these three factors with two experts in politics.

We welcome Professor emeritus Dr. Raymond Leal and UTSA professor, Doctor John Taylor.

Doctor Leal is at Saint Mary's.

Doctor Taylor at UTSA.

We'll start with you, Doctor Taylor.

Because you co-founded the center at UTSA that focuses on polling, and it recently completed a poll and helped us select these eight.

Tell us about the efficacy of using polling and other indices to to narrow the field from 27, which is impossible for the people to really know to the most viable candidate.

So if you've got an hour, I.

Can give you a whole hour and a lecture on it.

But that's not going to be the case here.

So the question is why is polling important and why is the efficacy important?

The answer is this is that if we're looking at asking people's opinions, especially when it comes to a mayor's race right now, what we're seeing is at least in the latest seaport Poll, is that support is I would make an argument a mile wide but also an inch deep.

There's, you know, the leading candidate has 9% support, which means you're talking about with such a crowded field, you know, you've got it all over the place.

And so what we're interested in is, is who actually is standing out at who you look at, who stands out.

This is where we can justify the whole eight that we're inviting here for this is that they stand out compared to the other candidates who, no offense to some of them, might be viewed as vanity candidates who got on the ballot because of our particular way that we allow people to actually get into into, into an election.

But more importantly, it gives us an idea based on the electorate understanding that these people have enough name recognition based on either running for previous offices or holding offices, that they are viable candidates.

We have 27 people running Doctor Leo, which makes it virtually impossible for the public to get a feel.

In fact, they may look for their candidate on the ballot of 27 and not find them immediately.

So they have to be looking for someone.

Very difficult thing to do.

Talk about the problem of having 27.

Well, on the ballot.

Obviously, it's very confusing.

And, you're not going to get to know 27 candidates.

So people will focus on name recognition.

They know the name six of the candidates of the eight that you're going to talk about later.

Served on the city council.

Three of them are veterans.

Three of them are attorneys.

There's one PhD.

So qualifications, name recognition and a connection to the voters.

And the voters are looking to see, you know, who would be a good mayor?

Yeah.

And it it it comes down to the factors that Doctor Taylor discussed.

We have 27 people on the ballot.

You could say that's a good thing in that it gives, a lot of choices.

It is a result of the fact that we have very low barriers to signing up to be a candidate.

You basically sign up as opposed to having to raise signatures or put a substantial amount of money as a fee.

So there are good aspects to it.

But the downside is it's going to be something of a lottery to see who makes it to the runoff.

Unless people can focus on those who have the best chance by these indices.

And that's what Cailin is trying to do, narrow the field so we can get a deeper look at the ones who actually, by our judgment, have the best chance.

Right.

Talk a little bit about polling and these other measures as the way to make that decision.

Polling.

Okay.

People.

There be people in the audience.

Polling.

It's all, you know, it's all.

It's all.

It's nothing but parlor tricks and magic.

No, it's not.

It's actually quite scientific.

And the way we do our polling, especially is really good.

We actually have we actually have a standard that's actually the American Association of Public Opinion Research.

We are certified by them, which means we are well recognized for our techniques and the techniques we use.

The sampling we use, I think is quite good, which is why we have a margin of error of plus or -3.8%, which is very good for a poll, particularly if it's size, particularly in a city like San Antonio.

So when you're seeing the support for individuals in this poll, that's measuring something, I think that's important.

The other thing to keep in mind is, is that if you look at the poll, 55% of the people surveyed have no idea who they're going to vote for for mayor.

They're either undecided or they just don't know who the people that are running.

Unclear.

What?

Do you think of the methodology that is being used here?

Well, I think it's, you know, scientifically sound.

I have read the poll and it's scientifically sound, but I was going to mention, too, that one of the things that comes out of a poll is the financial resources to run for office.

People are not going to give money to someone who's got a 1% polling rate.

It just like in a presidential poll, the polls become very important in terms of how much money, donors are willing to put behind a candidate.

And, you know, whether we like it or not, that's something that wins election.

Well, our purpose here at Keller and in this program is to provide deeper knowledge for the public of the candidates who this methodology has determined are the ones who, like to use to have the best chance, allow people to dig a little bit deeper, perhaps the only opportunity they'll have on brought on television.

To do that.

And so thank you very much for your political science expertise that has allowed us to, develop this methodology.

And now let's proceed to hear from the candidates.

Before we meet our candidates.

I wanted to share just a couple of points with you.

The first is I'm going to ask the same basic question of each of the candidates.

That way, you can make a comparison as to how they answer those basic questions.

And we have to go fast because we only have six minutes to get all of the candidates into a program like this.

And we want to extract as much knowledge that you can use for comparison in that time.

The second point is that as a former mayor, I am not involving myself in this campaign, not endorsing because I want it to be fair and balanced for a program such as this.

And because I work civically in the community a good deal, and I want to make sure I can work with whoever you send to be the next mayor of San Antonio.

Rolando Pablos is the former secretary of state of Texas and a long time expert in economic development.

He's had deep ties between the United States and Mexico in a very constructive way, and is now running to be mayor.

Rolando, what particular agenda or vision do you advocate for your tenure as mayor?

Well, thank you, Henry.

Well, listen, I think we have a great opportunity to tackle an issue that we've been kicking, you know, down the road, and that is poverty.

I think we have a serious poverty issue with systemic.

It's generational.

And I think right now is the best time to address it.

Now that we'll have four, four year terms, I think this is the time to be able to do it.

And the way you do it is through aggressive economic development, great education and fiscal responsibility.

What is the job of mayor, in your opinion, and why do you want to be mayor?

The job of mayor for me is, the job of bringing everybody together, protecting the welfare of the city, but also working with your colleagues to make sure that everybody, is represented.

I would like to be mayor, you know, to whom much is given, much is expected.

San Antonio's been a great city for me.

I've been here for 40 years.

I have a duty to serve.

I've served my state, and now I really want to serve San Antonio.

Then my my talents.

And bring my skillset to the table, to take San Antonio in a different direction and, into prosperity.

What is the most notable skill that you would bring to the mayor's office?

So I've been in economic development for many years.

I think, being able to have a mayor who has the experience and the qualifications, not only in economic development, but also in government and in business.

I'll be able to bring all those skills to the table.

I've run three state agencies, one of them a law enforcement agency.

And, you know, I've been an entrepreneur.

I've worked in corporate America.

Being able to bring all those talents to the table.

Also, having those relationships in Mexico, in Austin and in Washington, DC is very important.

Of all of those things you've mentioned.

What is it in your background that most qualifies you to be mayor?

Well, I believe that, my education, has been, a great platform.

You know, I was born and raised in Mexico.

Came to the United States when I was nine.

Came to San Antonio in 1985.

When?

When you were, at the helm.

And, you know, my parents brought us to this country to get an education.

And I'm glad to say I didn't let them down to earn five university degrees.

And like I said, I've worked in government.

I've had my own business.

But most importantly, I have the ability to to to bring people together.

I've always had that in me.

And, I plan to do it here.

What do you believe is the biggest problem confronting San Antonio?

It all stems, right back to poverty.

You know, a lot of the problems that we have in San Antonio are rooted in the condition of poverty, crime, homelessness.

Educational gaps, you know, even neighborhood blight.

All of those things, you know, are rooted in poverty.

And so what I would like to do is I would like to go to the root of the problem and tackle this poverty issue.

That really hasn't been able to, to be addressed in a proper way.

So I think poverty eradication of poverty, should be the number one thing that our next mayor should address once and for all.

Many have tried to address poverty, and it's laudable that you would.

What different strategy would you bring to the fight against poverty that you mentioned that would characterize the Rolando Pablo's approach?

Well, we have to invest in our people.

We have to make sure that we bring opportunities to our people and remove those, those barriers that have been preventing our people from progressing.

So, like I said, aggressive economic development bring quality jobs that will bring quality paychecks.

You know, focus on quality education, work with our school districts to make sure that our kids get educated.

Workforce development is extremely important, but most importantly, being able to attract new investment, bringing companies to San Antonio much those same way.

I brought companies to Texas when I was secretary of state.

I've got that experience.

I'm not just talking about what I will do.

I already I've already done it and I've been able to prove myself at that level.

And I just want to be able to bring that same level of skill set to San Antonio so that we can improve our economic standing, our quality of life and really raise our standard of living, which is what we need here in town.

We have 27 people running for mayor.

It's hard to differentiate oneself.

On this program, we have eight people who will be interviewed.

What do you want the public to know about Rolando Pablos that differentiates you from the other 26?

That is a lot of people.

Look, I think our next mayor needs to have the integrity.

It needs to have the qualifications, the experience and the relationships to be able to take the city into a different direction.

And that's what I bring to the table.

I have a tremendous amount of experience.

I have the qualifications, and I have the relationships in Austin and in Washington.

I think this is a time to be able to embrace those relationships, be able to work with our leadership in Austin and in Washington, because really, we're competing with other Texas cities, with other mayors who have worked at the Capitol like I have.

And also, with other cities around the country for those same dollars that we need to bring to our community.

So I think those relationships, my qualifications and experience set me apart.

Rolando.

Good luck.

Thank you, Henry, I appreciate that.

Good to see you.

Many places served on the city council for the last eight years.

He is an attorney in our community and comes from a distinguished family that taught him public service early on.

And he.

What particular agenda or vision do you advocate for your term as mayor?

Henry, I am, brokenhearted every time I hear other cities compare themselves.

I'm sad when I hear San Antonio compare itself to other cities and then say, why can't we have nice things?

Right?

And so I think that most of the challenges that face our beautiful city, if we attack them with a sense of optimism and just real zeal, right, and set some, some audacious goals for ourselves, I think we'd be closer to reaching them than if we continued on this path of incrementalism.

Right.

So I'll tell you right now, what I want is for the city to be the safest, the strongest, the smartest city in America.

And if we set that as our goal, we'll be more likely to get very close to that goal.

But if we just simply say, I want us to be a little bit better than the last guy, right.

Then, you know, low expectations are self-fulfilling prophecies.

How do you envision the job of mayor, the job itself.

And what do you think most qualifies you?

I think that it's going to be a long four years because of what's happening in Austin and in DC.

I think the next mayor is going to have to approach this, with two hands, one, covered in a glob of velvet, right, so that we can negotiate and make friends and make allies and coalitions and really tell San Antonio's story.

And then number two, a fist.

Right.

And we are needing a mayor who is going to ferociously advocate for the city, right, and go out there and make as many friends as possible and make sure that we pull from every lever to bring home our tax dollars and make sure that nobody erodes our ability to deliver and to deliver excellent services.

But the next mayor may also have to be a wartime there, right?

And be ready to pick a fight and defend the city at all costs.

And that's what I do for a living.

That's what I've done my entire life for the most vulnerable people in San Antonio, battered women and children and small business and very large businesses.

And I'm good at it.

What would you say is the most notable skill you bring to the job?

I, have been asked whether or not I will be the consensus mayor.

And to that I've said absolutely not.

And the thing about me, Henry, is, and you know me, is that I speak difficult truths, right?

And that sometimes I leave the filter at home, right?

And people will gasp and clutch their pearls because, oh my gosh, man, he said the quiet part out loud, right?

One of the things that I do, and I think I served me and the people that I help, is to speak the difficult truths and not varnish them with sugar, and and fluff.

I think San Antonio deserves some difficult conversations about Project Marble, about domestic violence, about our economy, about how we're going to deal with the next four years in DC.

And I, the skill that I bring to the table is I'm a trained mediator.

I'm not just a litigator.

Right.

But I bring competing interests to the table, and we walk out with deals done.

So in those things that are your background.

Yeah.

Which of those would you say most prepares you to be mayor?

You know, I was the very first person that Toyota, ever hired in the city.

And, I was I was, very blessed to be part of the team that put that whole deal together.

But the thing that I'm most proud of is the work that I did at Brooks.

They gave us the keys to that.

That was an abandoned air force base buildings.

Pre council and.

Pre council, and I was the chairman for a number of years there.

And what we did is we.

Proved.

To all of San Antonio that the South side is a place you can place a bet on and you'll win.

But to that if we really set bold, audacious goals for ourselves, we can create wonderful things and we deserve them.

And so now when people go to Brooks, they say, I never in my wildest dreams thought this was possible.

And that's what breaks my heart is to is to hear people say, I don't think these things are possible, and I think the next mayor is going to have to show them, yes, we can and you deserve it, and we will do it together.

What would you say is the most pressing problem before our city today?

If you had to, you know, just pick one thing and you say, I get it.

This is what the people are most concerned about.

What do you perceive that?

You know, everybody feels like they're not safe right now.

They've been told over and over again by every elected official and news source that, you know, San Antonio is a dangerous city.

They don't believe you when you tell them that crime has been reduced and that we're on the right trajectory.

And I get that I'm not here to invalidate the feelings or diminish the feelings of lack of safety in your neighborhoods.

But the reality is, is that ther 1 in 3 women in the city experienced domestic violence, right?

Or will have that domestic violence story to tell.

1 in 3 who are watching us right now are going to experience this or have experienced it.

That, for me is an existential crisis, that touches economics, that touches education, literacy, housing, and then also it is just unacceptable.

And tell me what you would do.

More specific terms.

Yeah.

So we have to increase all services for, for women and children in this situation.

But for the first time ever, I want to be the mayor who recruits men and boys to this conversation every single time.

Domestic violence is, you know, the the advocates are brought together.

Henry.

You look around that room and it's all women, right?

You learn this literally from your mother.

Yeah.

So tell tell us the job that she's done.

My mom.

And how it impacted.

You.

For almost 30 years, my mom has been the CEO of one of the largest battered women and children shelters in all of America.

And we've traveled the world really looking at best practices and trying to figure out what to bring to San Antonio.

And the one thing that's missing from all the best practices here in San Antonio is the recruitment of men.

If men aren't telling other boys, boys don't hit girls, real men don't hit women, this is the wrong way to do it.

We're going to continue to have this problem.

We're going to continue to throw money at shelters, but we're not going to go upstream and solve it.

I want to be the mayor that looks San Antonio in the eye and says, In San Antonio, boys don't hit girls.

Annie, thank you for being here today.

And thank you for, sharing your skills with the people of San Antonio in this race.

Thank you for doing this.

Doctor Adriana Roger Garcia is a PhD educator at Our Lady Lake University, whose work has touched many lives there.

She's also served at the Hispanic Chamber and Sam Ministries, and was a special projects officer within the City Manager's office.

Doctor Roger Garcia, what particular agenda or vision do you advocate for?

Our city?

I have a vision of bringing education back to the forefront of the city.

I believe that education is the way to get out of the intergenerational poverty that our city has faced for many, many years.

And I feel that if education is not at the forefront of city policies and we're going to leave our future behind, that's our children.

What is the job of mayor?

As you see it, you've served on the city council for years, and you've been able to watch mayors at Work.

Why do you want to be there?

The job of the mayor, as I city as I see it, is to bring people together to build consensus and to unify the city council with one voice.

Now, we're not always going to agree on everything on the City council, but it is the duty of the mayor to be representative of every person that they represent, not just, one district or another, not just one party or another.

That's the beauty of this race, is that it's nonpartisan, and the focus should be on consensus that the mayor brings to the council.

What is the most notable personal skill that you bring to the mayor's office?

I think one of the most notable skills that I bring to the mayor's office is that I am great at collaborating.

I talk to people of every background.

My door is always open before I make any decisions.

I, take both sides of the issue that might come from my training.

I went to undergraduate and I received a degree in journalism.

I still credit that for making me show objective and fair and balanced.

I get both sides to the story before I make a decision on how I'm going to vote.

And what would you say from what you've seen on the years you've been on the council and also out on the campaign trail, now the most pressing problem before our city, what are people saying?

This is something you have to do.

The most pressing item that I have seen as I'm going door to door, happens to be that education.

That's why I keep focusing in on the fact that we need to bring education back to City Hall.

People understand that economic empowerment and economic prosperity for the city as a whole is not going to happen unless we have an educated community.

But an educated community needs to be a healthy community as well.

So one of the other focus areas that I would like to focus on would be health care and the access to quality of life that allows you to share in healthy activities.

We have a lot of people who are uninsured, underinsured.

We saw what happened during the pandemic.

We don't want that to repeat itself, but also when you think about a healthy community, you think about the healthy workforce component, because if a child is out sick, there's got to be a parent taking care of that child that means that that parent is away from the job.

For an employer, it means having to train someone, maybe upskill someone for a couple of days.

And it's unfair to both parties, right?

Because the employee is missing out, perhaps on, that day's worth of work and essentially pay and the employer has to go without that employee for the day.

Now, on the child side of it, if the child is out for at least a day, they go back in their studies three days worth of, knowledge.

And so we can't do that anymore.

And at the heart of it all, though, I feel, is the focus that, we need to place back on families and keeping families housed.

Because when you're sick, you want to place to go home to.

But right now, we don't have enough housing stock.

Majority of the people who are experiencing homelessness now are actually families.

It's children that are going to schools right now that are not, able to call a place home.

And that's the other component that I think that we need to focus in, in order to have a healthy economy and a healthy city.

How would you, as mayor, balance off those sort of basic services that are part of keeping the city growing and having adequate services with the very proactive agenda you've just laid out here of education and health care and so forth, are those things in proper balance today?

How do you see that?

I feel that we've done great strides as a city, but I feel that every time that a new mayor comes on, somebody wants to just, take to, a different agenda and not continue to look at the programs that have been working in the 1990s, the San Antonio Education Partnership was created by you.

I'm grateful because I am a recipient of a scholarship from the San Antonio Education Partnership.

I am also on the board now for the Education Partnership.

How do we continue to leverage the great work that the partnership has done, but maybe also bring it together with what Mayor Julian Castro did with pre-K?

For us?

How do we expand pre-K for effort into the younger mind?

Because we know that children, start developing at months old and we have to look at how we leverage that ability as well.

Doctor Roger Garcia, thank you very much for your public service.

Very valuable years on the city council.

And thank you for joining us today and putting forward your ideas in a way that the public can grasp.

Who is Doctor other?

Diana.

Roger Garcia.

Good luck.

Thank you.

Gina Ortiz Jones is an undersecretary of the United States Air Force as well as an Iraq War veteran.

She's been active both at the national level and locally in many community activities.

Gina, what particular agenda or vision do you advocate for your term as mayor for our city?

Yeah.

Well, thank you again for having me in this very important discussion.

I think it's really important that when we're looking at the future of our city, we are also thinking about the generational inequities in our community.

Right.

We can only go as fast as certain communities as we invest in them.

Which is why on my website, I have laid out the things I want to work on in the first 100 days, right?

The reality is, even if we had different leadership at the federal or state level, some of our local challenges would be the same, right?

We'd still have over half the kids in our community grades three through eight, not reading at level.

Their math skills are not at level.

We'd still have 95,000 families housing insecure, and you and I would still be dealing with way too much traffic and delayed construction downtown.

So I think it's really important with all the uncertainty in our community at the federal and at the state level, we have a really strong agenda to address some of these inequities.

So people can go to my website, Jean Ortiz jones.com to look at some of those things, how I look to work to bring down costs, make sure we are making smart investments where we must and ultimately also making sure we've got much more transparency around how taxpayer dollars are being spent in our community.

What is the job of mayor as you envision it, and why do you want to be mayor?

I, as you mentioned, I most recently served as the second highest civilian leading the Department of the Air Force.

I managed $173 billion budget.

I led 600,000 people.

Right at the end of the day, though, that job was really, I would argue about asking two questions.

One, do my folks have what they need to be successful?

And two, are we making smart investments?

I would argue those are fundamentally the exact same questions that a mayor must ask every single day.

And then, of course, work in concert with the rest of the city council, work in concert with the city staff, and certainly make sure the community is bought in to the direction that we are moving in.

Right.

So everyone understands the investments that are being made, the progress that we look forwar What is the most notable skill, personal skill that you would bring to the office?

Yeah, well, I think it's really important.

Again, with all the uncertainty in our community, right, with federal decisions that are impacting everything from, funding for veterans care, which I mean, frankly, I get my own care either at Audie Murphy or at the clinic off of 151 or even the impacts to Department of Education.

Right?

With the uncertainty, even from everything from title one schools to Pell Grant funding, all of that impacts our community.

I think it's really important that you have somebody that has led.

I'm the most I would argue I'm the most experienced leader running in this race.

I manage $173 billion budget, led 600,000 people.

And as you mentioned, I've worked at the federal level to be able to understand, you know, how can we best advocate for resources in our community as we also manage through some of the economic uncertainty, which we're already, unfortunately, feeling in our community?

What particular experience position in your background most qualifies you to be mayor?

I would argue there's there's two right?

There's a couple.

And for me, because one, not only do you have that have the skill.

Right.

And again, I have that having led a large bureaucracy, having made sure our folks were well invested in, as the undersecretary, I think that that managerial skill, I would argue also there was a very important experience very early on in my life, that always reminded me of how we must lead.

Right.

I think the three most important questions any leader must ask.

Why?

Why not?

And where is the data?

Right?

Where is the data that is helping us ensure we are making smart decisions and we understand the impact of those things?

One of the very first things I had to do at Boston University, it was an Air Force ROTC scholarship that took me from John Jay High School to Boston University.

And I'll never forget one of the first things I had to do there is sign a piece of paper that said, I will not engage in homosexual behavior because Don't ask, don't tell was the policy at the time.

And I knew what that meant for me as a young kid, my opportunity to get an education, my opportunity to serve our country, my opportunity to die for our country if need be.

All that goes away just because at the time, we didn't have enough leaders with the courage to say anybody ready and willing to serve their country should have the opportunity to do so.

So yes, you better believe 20 some odd years later, when I was honored to be nominated by President Biden, unanimously confirmed by the Senate, that I challenged myself to be the leader that I wish I would have had as that young cadet and that young officer.

And I'm very proud of all the ways in which I knocked down barriers so people could serve to their full potential.

That experience also showed me, Mr. Secretary, the importance of when you are leading a discussion, right when you are driving that, that, that, when you're driving the process, always ask, who am I not hearing from and why am I not hearing from this?

I would argue between my managerial and leadership experience and that very firsthand experience of being, frankly, a part of an organization that could be could not be as invested in your success.

Right?

Because you could not talk openly about how things were impacting you.

I would argue those two things together are so important, ensuring that we're hearing from communities that have long been under-invested the East side, the South side, many communities that frankly still don't have drainage in the year of our Lord 2025.

Right.

It's unacceptable.

And I think it takes a leader who has the skills, but also the courage to ask these tough questions and really deliver results for our community.

Gina, thank you for joining us today, and thank you for putting your experience and persona in front of the public in this race for mayor.

My pleasure.

Thank you.

Clayton Perry is a 21 year veteran of the United States Air Force, where he was a senior officer.

He worked 13 years in an engineering technology company, and for the last six years has served as a member of the San Antonio City Council.

Clayton, what particular agenda or vision do you advocate for your term as mayor?

What do you want to be remembered for if you get to be mayor?

Well, thank you, sir.

Number one, I want to bring budget control back to it, to the city, you know, reducing crime, getting our streets in good shape and trying to reduce our taxes here.

You watched the mayor for the six years you were on the city council, and no doubt have in your mind some formulation of what you believe the mayor's office to be its powers.

Why do you want to be mayor and and what would you bring to the job?

Well, I think I would bring common sense leadership to the city council.

You know, I watched it over the years and yes, it is a leadership form, getting those to follow you in the new direction where you want to take the city.

So to me, that's that's what it's all about.

In your first months as mayor, what would the people of San Antonio see that differentiates you from the other 26 candidates that are in this race?

Well, number one, when when this election is over with, it's going to be well into the budget preparation for 2026.

And I'm going to dive right into it to make sure that we're spending our money in the right areas that the people really, really want.

They want a return on their investment.

And you've mentioned now several times budgeting.

Talk to us about the skills that you bring to the budgeting process.

Is that what you did in your Air Force responsibilities and your business responsibility is where's the strength of your budget information?

That's exactly what the primary job, when I was in the Air Force and in private industry, was budgeting, you know, developing a budget and then living by that budget, sticking to it.

And that's the same thing that I want to continue to do here as mayor.

What personal skill do you bring to the mayor's office that you believe would allow you to lead the other council members and set the initiative for the city?

Just just your personal attributes?

Well, I'm a very personable type of individual.

I get along with people.

Plus the experience factor.

I can't emphasize that enough.

Being a the experience, starting at the grassroots level through my HOA and then through the Northeast Neighborhood Alliance and then on City Council.

So all that experience wrapped in together is positioned me just perfectly to be mayor.

I missed that in my introductory comments that you had served in various HOA positions.

Talk about that a little bit, because most San Antonians understand now that HOA fees are a core, integral functioning of the city government.

Tell us about that experience that you had.

Absolutely.

Well, when I got here in 1991, we moved into a new housing area, and it started with an HOA.

And, I said, you know, I'll get involved in that.

And so I did and got elected to the board, and then I got elected to be the president of that HOA.

And, you know, that's the grass roots, just like you were saying.

It gives you a great understanding on working with people in a neighborhood, on looking what their wants and desires are.

And then trying to fill those things.

So I did that through my HOA and then getting involved in the Northeast Neighborhood Alliance, which is 90 different.

90.

90 different neighborhoods and one organization.

I was on the board of that as the secretary and treasurer for that.

And, it's same concept.

Just how do you, contribute to that?

90 different organizations there in the North.

And what are some of the issues that came up in that HOA experience repeatedly that you would say, you know, I get our city.

Well, it's all about the crime.

People are very concerned about that.

The shape of our streets, our sidewalks, our drainage out there, our infrastructure, those were big topics.

And of course, our taxes here in San Antonio, you know, the real estate, the property taxes that continued to rise year on top of year, on top of year.

So those were the things that we really concentrated on in the Northeast Neighborhood Alliance to work with our city councilman and, with other organizations across the city to try to get our wants and desires out on the street.

That could change policy and the direction for our area.

From your perspective, neighborhood Alliance business years on the city council, what would you conclude is the biggest problem confronting San Antonio?

Mayors frequently have an agenda, and then that agenda is upended by some disaster they have to deal with, or there's some problem that won't go away that doesn't lend itself to easy solution.

What would you say is that challenge?

Well, number one, I mentioned it already.

Crime that's on everybody's mind right now and how it's creeping around the city and seeming to get worse that people don't feel safe even walking in their neighborhoods.

That to me has been the number one crime, crime issue.

And what?

Just give us a sense of you no doubt.

Thought about this.

What would you do or encourage the council to do, or ask the police chief and city manager to do.

Well, we're short about 300 officers, 300 officers across town, so we need to make sure the resources are available to go out and hire those, train them, equip them and get them into the neighborhoods, particularly in the neighborhoods, to patrol and become more proactive instead of just reactive.

And what I mean, getting out into the neighborhoods, being visible, keeping the bad guys out instead of just going and taking a look at a crime that's already been committed in the neighborhoods.

People are really, really frustrated with that right now.

Well, I think there's a lot of people who would agree with you.

Yeah.

Thank you for your public service, and thank you for making yourself available for this program so people could share your thoughts about why you want to be mayor.

I really appreciate it.

Thank you very much, sir.

Thank you.

John Courage has served on the city council for the last eight years.

He's a military veteran who has been an educator, who served on the Community College Board, and who has an extensive background in children and social services in our community.

John, what particular agenda or vision do you advocate for?

San Antonio?

Well, you know, Henry, I believe San Antonio is a city of opportunities.

And I think that's the role of the next mayor, is to make sure that those opportunities continue to grow and develop for people in this community.

And that means being an advocate for more jobs, better paying jobs, being an advocate for more housing and housing that's affordable for everybody, being an advocate and a cheerleader for the city, getting out and talking about not what's wrong with the city, but what's so great about this city that people enjoy and have have enjoyed, like I have for over 50 years?

John, you, have sat next to the mayor for the last eight years on the city council.

And what's the mayor's function?

How do you perceive the job, in your opinion?

What is the job of mayor and what do you want that job?

Well, you know, as when you serve on the council, you learn a lot.

And so I think what I've done is, again, the knowledge and the understanding of how the city works and how the community expects the city to work.

And I think that's given me insight into what are some of the serious problems and serious solutions to those problems.

And I've put things in play.

I've actually accomplish things.

No one else on the council, for example, is doing participatory budgeting or people's budget, letting the people decide how to spend their tax dollars.

I've been a strong advocate for lowering taxes for people.

I've been a strong advocate for increasing the police force.

No one else has provided funding for what we call safe baby boxes to be put in to the fire stations around the city so that, children won't be abandoned any longer, that they can be put in a safe device.

I'm coming up with something next week.

That's going to be, I think, instrumental in helping people remove medical debt, forgive medical debt in the city.

So those are some of the ideas, the expectations that I've had, that I want to bring forward as the next mayor.

And with 27 candidates, it's hard to differentiate for the public to differentiate.

If you were to state what is the principal differentiator that you want people to know why?

John Courage is the person they should select?

Well, I've been, a lifelong public servant, whether it was in the military, whether it was a teacher, whether it was working for Saint Peter's Saint Joseph Children's Home and most recently eight years as a council member, it's always been to serve the community.

I've done it well.

And, you know, people in my district have been asking me, why don't you run for mayor?

I think that it's been a privilege to serve, but it's an also an honor for people to encourage you.

And I believe I have the capability, the capacity, the willingness, and I've proven myself to be a leader.

And that's what it's going to take to move forward, to be the next leader in what could be trying times for the.

City is encourage a play on words.

You know, I tell people, you know, it it takes common sense and uncommon courage to lead the city down.

What, is the the personal skill that most qualifies you to be there?

I think it's being a listener.

I think that's the most important responsibility of a mayor.

And, you know, you might think, well, the mayor's out there out front and he goes to different events or she and, and and they represent the city.

But I think the most important thing is to be a listener to your community, because if you're going to represent the city outside of the city or around the world, you're the voice of the people in San Antonio.

And to be that voice, you need to be listening closely to what those needs are.

And then you need to be creative in making sure you can bring the council together to meet those needs.

In your service.

For the last eight years and now in a campaign, what are you absorbing, perceiving as the most serious problem confronting San Antonio?

You know, I really think it has to be poverty and housing those are the most serious problems.

They don't affect everybody in the city every day directly, but very much indirectly.

They affect our whole community so much of the resources that we have, we need to be using to help those who are in need.

You know, some people say, why aren't you spending your tax dollars as much in district nine, where I've been representing them as well as other places, and I say the city needs to use its priorities and its funding to go with the greatest need is and the greatest need is because of the poverty that we have in this community and the lack of affordable housing for so many people that are struggling.

And, you've been all over the city.

Tell me what what you perceive as the ability to see the whole city.

You've represented district nine, Northside District for eight years.

How do you become the mayor for the whole city?

Well, but I've worked and lived in many parts of the city over 50 years.

I've seen the city grow from the inside, toward the outside.

And so I think I share the experience that other people do about what some of the, the needs and the expectations are.

I've been a real big supporter of not building so much on the North side anymore, but building on the south side, the southeast, the southwest, the east side where we have the room and the opportunity for greater development.

And I think people appreciate the fact that I've been looking broadly at this city and not specifically at a certain.

Part of it.

John, thank you for your public service, and thank you for joining us here and sharing your views in a way that the public can get to know you better.

Thank you.

Henry.

It's my.

Pleasure.

Betto Altamirano is a technology company executive whose company developed a application that is usable by the citizens of San Antonio to put their complaints into the system and then track them through a sophisticated dashboard.

He's been a board member at Port San Antonio, and before that, worked for the metropolitan planning organization that works on the the planning of city traffic solutions better.

What particular agenda or vision do you advocate for your tenure as mayor?

What do you want to be known for if you're elected mayor?

It's good to be here with you, Henry.

My vision for San Antonio is taking care of the immediate needs.

The broken streets, the safe neighborhoods.

But it's also building a future grounded on economic opportunity, innovation and inclusivity.

I want to take San Antonio to the next level.

I want to have a transformative vision.

One of San Antonio being competitive in the 21st century, being a modern city, but one of inclusion as well.

In the 80s, there was this young mayor, who proposed Target Night.

And what I'm doing is proposing plan 210, focusing in three buckets economic opportunity, public safety and infrastructure.

When we talk about infrastructure construction being at the top of my agenda, introducing this concept of a, construction czar, someone that can be the glue between us, the city, and get projects done on time.

Sustainability is another big issue.

Housing.

Affordable housing in San Antonio is needed today so that we can move forward the city and making sure that everyone has a shot at this American modern economy.

Second, when we talk about economic opportunity, childcare is at the top of my agenda.

We have young families that cannot afford childcare in San Antonio.

I want to make sure that everyone is able to afford childcare in our city.

Second, I want to focus on workforce development strategies, on the emerging trends that we see in our economy.

Henry, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, bioscience sense and air and space, making sure that we bring investment and good jobs to San Antonio.

And finally, small business support.

And when I talk about, the public safety crime being at the top of my agenda, animal care services and also focusing on health and the disparities that we experience with health across the city of San Antonio.

But my plan, you can visit it online.

Plan 210.com is driven by people.

I spent about five months visiting every corner of the city the south side, west side, east side, in north side of San Antonio.

So this policy platform is driven by the aspirations, the challenges that our community sees.

And I think you need a mayor that has the energy to be able to execute on this platform on day one.

So what is the job of mayor as you see it?

And why do you want to be the mayor of San Antonio?

Absolutely.

Look, Henry, I, I, I'm a South Texas native.

I'm the son of immigrants.

And and I chose San Antonio, over a decade ago because I believe in the potential of the city.

And I believe in the power and the values of people in our community of San Antonio.

And I chose this city to start my company, my family and build community.

And I did.

So, knowing that this is this is where I am.

I want to build community in this city.

My my first child was born, exactly a month ago.

And I've been reflecting on the.

Why why am I running?

When I first moved to San Antonio, I spent two years working at the MPO.

And then I built this company, Iris, that allow people to easily engage with their government reporting issues that make or break their quality of life.

For almost ten years, I partner with the City of San Antonio helping people better connect with the city of San Antonio.

And in the process, I've discovered right then, in the end, people people want to have opportunity.

And the city has given me that opportunity, and I want to give back that opportunity.

But we are facing generational challenges.

Tell me how generation will change.

What kind of mayor would you be?

Define your conception of the role of mayor.

The role of the mayor is to lead, to listen, to be transformative.

And the mayor is not just the 11th vote.

The mayor needs to dictate vision forward, needs to leverage the bully pulpit to tell a story of where San Antonio is and where San Antonio is heading.

Tell me the particular skill that you bring to the job.

Yeah.

What is the essence of your form of leadership?

Look, I'm an entrepreneur.

As an entrepreneur, my skills, are about bringing people together, pursuing the right projects, putting the right teams together and getting things done.

I understand what it makes, what it takes to make payroll, sacrifice your salary, dictate vision.

But one of the skills that I have is listening to and building consensus and making difficult decisions.

I would describe my leadership style as one of servant leadership, one of leading from behind, and that's what I want to do as mayor of San Antonio.

And it's going to require energy, it's going to require vision, and it's going to require to have a commitment to building community and making sure that we shape a better future for San Antonio.

Better.

Congratulations on an excellent career in technology and good luck as you dream about bringing these concepts to our city.

Thank you.

Henry.

Melissa Cabella Poveda has been the City Council representative for Council District six for six years.

She is a disability attorney and she has spent a good deal of her civic life working on special needs issues, a challenge she has brought to the city council.

Melissa, what particular agenda or vision do you advocate for your tenure as mayor?

I want people to look back at, mayoral administration of Melissa Cabello Harvard and say that Melissa gave city government back to the people of San Antonio.

We see so often decisions being made without the community being, leading these decisions.

And the first thing I always do in my district now, in my leadership is to make sure that community, it starts with community.

We go to the neighborhoods, we go where you play and where you work, and where you go to school and talk to you there.

And the ideas grow from there, from neighborhoods.

You've served on the council for the last six years, so you've gotten to watch the mayor of close.

How do you conceive of the job of mayor?

What is the job of the mayor, and why do you want to hold that job?

It's a multifaceted job, and the mayor is very much a cheerleader of this city, which I believe I'm uniquely qualified to do.

Being born and raised in this city, and having invested so much in my city, raising my children here, and it's also making sure that the council is, is has consensus.

Right.

There's some convening there.

I used to work for Mayor Ed Garza, and that's really what I learned from him is, every time he walked out in that dais, he knew, how all the how every council member felt about a situation or a topic and knew exactly how to navigate that situation.

It made for a much easier policy moving forward.

And, it was very effective as well.

What is the most notable skill, personal skill that you would bring to the job?

It's kind of a dual, right.

But I'm a very much a collaborate.

I always want to bring in community.

I want to bring in all the players, that's all.

Sit at the table.

Let's figure this out.

But if it gets to the point where I need to fight, then I also fight.

I know that sometimes it's.

You need to push, and, you don't need to be outrageous to push.

You just need to be assertive.

And, I think I have both those things.

I can collaborate and pull people together.

And I can also figure out when we need to push.

So some of those things describe the process that you would use, the skill that you would bring to the job.

Where would you exercise your leadership?

In other words, what what would the people of San Antonio see different after four years of Melissa coming over?

So I really want to see a lot of smart growth in our city.

We we never want to leave San Antonians behind.

There's so much growth going on.

And I've experienced in district six, and every decision I've made in district six has made, made sure that San Antonians are at the forefront.

We have people and businesses coming in from all over, and that's great.

We welcome them.

But we always have to put San Antonians first and take care of their needs first.

So every step forward, every project, every, development has to include the current, community and make sure that they're all involved in it.

And you do preside over the the fastest growing district, right?

That whole northwest area.

I've had a lot of experience with growth and and managing it, managing it in a way that everybody is, is is happy with it moving forward.

I always find the compromise.

I've never had a vote that was controversial, that that didn't go through, in a way that that was moving our entire district and our city move forward together.

You think you've found a key to how to make neighborhoods stronger and literally life for residents better?

Yes.

That's quality of life is is starts with everybody coming together.

Now we find those compromises and not everybody is always happy at the end of that compromise.

But that's a true compromise.

And sometimes it takes a little longer, but I very much believe in doing it right, not doing it fast.

So Americans have a lot of sort of forward looking goals, but then things come up that are problematic and things that, that, that are not good for the city.

Yeah.

What would you say today is the greatest problem?

Affordable housing.

It's affordable housing.

Absolutely.

And I've had a lot of experience in my six years on council with, you know, proverbial fires.

Right?

We had the pandemic, the winter storm.

We had, I'm chair of public safety, and the Black Lives Matter movement became, to the forefront.

And so navigating through those crises in our city has really given me a lot of experience and understanding on how to get through the next crisis.

Affordable housing is is a crisis right now, and it's the number one issue that we need to tackle.

San Antonians.

Describe the problem of affordable housing as you see.

It.

So we don't have enough affordable housing.

And we also have a very large, homeless population, our unhoused community, not just people that are living on the streets, but think about families that are about to be evicted.

We have foster children that are aging out of the, of the foster care system, nowhere to go.

And so we I think a lot of times we as a city will look at the fire and try to put that fire out, but I want to look back at the root causes and start talking about what is starting that fire.

Yes, of course, we have to use our resources to take care of the immediate situation.

But the the root causes of affordable housing, the lack of affordable housing, are the way we've allowed developers to develop and not include affordable housing in those models.

And so every, every development has to include a model of affordable housing and.

This is citywide, not just citywide.

Citywide.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

What would you say in your background is the experience that most qualifies you to be mayor?

You mentioned I'm a disability attorney by trade.

And of course, as an attorney, I have strong negotiation skills.

I am very perceptive, observant, but also, come from a place of compassion.

I joke that I'm a lawyer that sleeps just fine at night.

I'm helping our special needs community.

I'm coming from a place of compassion and understanding.

How every move I make is going to impact my clients lives.

And that's the same thing on council.

Every move I make impacts the quality of life for every San Antonio.

So the skill set is, mediation and finding the middle and consensus with compassion.

Absolutely.

Good luck in your race.

And thank you for your public service today.

Thank you, Secretary Big.

Thank you, Melissa.

We've given you an overview of each of the eight candidates who are currently leading the race for mayor, based on polling from UTSA fundraising and name recognition, each candidate has a website where you can find more information about their ideas, their backgrounds, and their agendas.

And remember, there are 19 other candidates also on the ballot.

The decision is now up to you and it's a big decision.

The mayor can set the course for our city that touches all of our lives.

Henry Cisneros, please cast your vote as if our city's future depended on it.