A uncommon opening to symbolize San Antonio’s District 9 — one of many metropolis’s reddest and most civically engaged council districts — is drawing curiosity from a slew of conservative-minded candidates keen to place the brakes on metropolis spending and work extra carefully with the state’s GOP leaders.
For the previous eight years, the far Northside district has been represented by Councilman John Braveness (D9), a as soon as liberal activist whose grown extra average with age and constructed a loyal base of supporters by specializing in neighborhood points like infrastructure and public security.
As Braveness cycles off and pursues a mayoral bid, nonetheless, loads of native Republicans are optimistic about electing considered one of their very own, including one other conservative voice to a Metropolis Council that’s solely had one in recent times, within the District 10 seat.
Although Metropolis Council races are technically nonpartisan, three of the main contenders at a candidate discussion board Wednesday night time touted their fiscal conservative agendas, their aversion to onerous rules and their relationships with state and native GOP officers.
One even informed the group she was personally gifted a pecan tree in her yard by Gov. Greg Abbott.
“We have already got quite a lot of rules on what might be restricted on the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone,” April Chang, the candidate with a private relationship with governor, mentioned in response to a query about what sort of improvement must be allowed over the area’s underground water provide. “They must actually present me why we want extra, and the true purpose and the information behind it.”
See the total listing of District 9 candidates on our 2025 Voter Information
One other candidate, Misty Spears, who at present serves as Republican Bexar County Commissioner Grant Moody’s (Pct. 3) constituent providers director, mentioned she’s been endorsed by the police and hearth unions and virtually all of San Antonio’s GOP elected officers, together with Moody, Whyte, and state Reps. Marc LaHood and Mark Dorazio.
“I’m pleased with my endorsements as a result of it speaks to who has confidence through which candidate to get the job carried out, and that’s me,” mentioned Spears, who grew up in Encino Park and ran for District Clerk as a Republican in 2022.
In response to a query about how she would strategy town’s bond program, which funds lots of of public works tasks by borrowed cash, Spears urged ending the apply altogether.
“After I hear bond, I hear debt, and we’re in debt, and so I’ve nice concern about issuing new bonds,” she mentioned.
A 3rd candidate, Daniel Mezza, touted an extended resume of political expertise that features expertise working as a district director for former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-Helotes) and as a regional director for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).
Mezza mentioned he’d sought to exit the political enviornment however grew pissed off with town’s management when he launched a espresso firm and couldn’t persuade them to do extra to assist small companies.
“My experiences within the metropolis, nicely, thus far, they’ve been fairly adverse,” mentioned Mezza, who’s on the board of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “The extra companies that shut, the financial begins happening, thus the finances goes down, proper, and our providers lower.”
Braveness, who attended the assembly, mentioned little in regards to the feedback made by candidates operating to interchange him. However he’s endorsed a successor in Angi Taylor Aramburu, whose marketing campaign consists of staffers with shut ties to Braveness.
Aramburu has a background in public relations and nonprofit arts administration, is lively within the North East ISD Mother or father Trainer Affiliation and he or she was Democrats’ nominee for Texas Home District 122 in 2022. She’s additionally been endorsed by former Bexar County Decide Nelson Wolff.
However her feedback at Wednesday’s discussion board largely blended in with the conservatives, calling for a cost-benefit evaluation on Venture Marvel and larger investments in public security.
“I’d prefer to see extra patrols on the road with decreased response instances,” she mentioned of her priorities. “I wish to be fiscally accountable. We’d like to ensure we’re spending our cash as effectively as doable, conserving prices low as they spiral uncontrolled all over the place else.”
A fifth candidate, Emily Pleasure Garza, moved her household to the district from Washington D.C. throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
However not like the opposite candidates with high-profile political backers, Garza owns her personal everlasting cosmetics firm, used a few of her time to focus on her work in San Antonio’s animal welfare neighborhood and mentioned she’s operating on a platform of prioritizing “neighborhood confidence.”
“What which means is ensuring that our neighborhood is ready in relation to issues like fires, freezes, emergency responses, ensuring that our law enforcement officials have engaging careers that we will additionally retain our law enforcement officials,” she mentioned.
Two District 9 candidates weren’t in attendance: Celeste Tidwell, a former Democratic precinct chair who has run for workplace earlier than in District 10, and Tristen Hoffman, a highschool senior who plans to review economics.
Early voting runs April 22 by April 29 for the Might 3 election.
If no candidate takes not less than 50% of the vote on Might 3, the highest two finishers will advance to a June 7 runoff.
