San Antonio hasn’t had a municipal election with this a lot at stake in fairly a while, as voters select a brand new mayor and 10 Metropolis Council members on the Could 3 poll.
In 4 Metropolis Council races, voters are electing somebody fully new to take the place of longtime incumbents — that means town’s predominantly left-leaning council and mayor’s workplace might face a serious shakeup.
For the primary time, this incoming class of metropolis leaders will serve four-year phrases earlier than they’ve to hunt reelection, that means that is the final likelihood votes get to weigh in till 2029.
Examine all the candidates within the San Antonio Report’s 2025 Voter Information.
Election day is Saturday, Could 3, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
If no candidate takes not less than 50% of the vote, the highest two finishers in that race will advance to a June 7 runoff.
Along with town election, eight San Antonio-area faculty districts are holding faculty board races on the Could 3 poll — a few of which have drawn massive spending from exterior teams and academics’ unions.
A number of districts are additionally internet hosting faculty bond elections — votes that tackle further significance as state leaders attempt to elevate the help threshold for bonds after this legislative session.
Plus, 9 Bexar County suburbs are holding municipal elections on Could 3.
Obtain a replica of your private pattern poll to see what races and poll measures you’ll be requested to weigh in on.
Listed here are the highest 10 races the San Antonio Report editors and reporters will likely be watching on election night time.
1. San Antonio Mayor
San Antonio is gearing as much as elect a substitute for term-limited Mayor Ron Nirenberg — town’s first new mayor in eight years — and a crowded area of 27 candidates are operating.
As of the latest marketing campaign fundraising reviews, 4 candidates seem to have pulled forward in spending: Tech entrepreneur Beto Altamirano, Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8), former Air Drive Beneath Secretary Gina Ortiz Jones, and former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos.
A UTSA survey performed in early April supplied a number of the solely impartial public polling on the race, and recommended voters had been nonetheless broadly undecided on their selections simply days out from the beginning of early voting.
Jones held the one clear lead within the UTSA ballot, and the highest tier featured many candidates who weren’t among the many high fundraisers, together with longtime Northside Councilman John Braveness (D9), Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6), Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4), former District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry and Division of Protection worker Tim Westley.
Within the remaining weeks, PAC cash has poured in to affect San Antonio voters in a nonpartisan race that each Republicans and Democrats say carries statewide significance.
Ninenberg spent a lot of his final time period combating state GOP leaders and stumping for Democrat Kamala Harris’ presidential marketing campaign, however Texas’ massive metropolis mayors have been steadily shifting away from progressivism, and each events are carefully monitoring voter sentiment in one of many state’s final Democratic strongholds.
Pablos has ties to state GOP leaders, whereas Jones has run for Congress twice as a Democrat. Altamirano spent his early profession working for Democrats on the state and nationwide degree, regardless of campaigning as extra of a centrist on this race.
These three Metropolis Corridor outsiders have leveraged their political connections to suck up a lot of the oxygen and fundraising in a crowded, complicated area, whereas native teams just like the police and fireplace unions have opted to attend for the runoff earlier than making an endorsement.
Traditionally, nevertheless, San Antonio voters have proven a transparent choice for candidates with council expertise. In 70 years, town has solely elected one mayor who had not served on the Metropolis Council first, legal professional Phil Hardberger in 2005, and the 5 previous and current council members on this yr’s race are hoping to maintain that streak going.
2. Metropolis Council District 1
First-term Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1) faces a barn-burner reelection race with rivaling neighborhood teams, scorched-earth political consultants and pro-business pursuits all weighing in.
Kaur pulled off an upset victory in 2023, defeating an incumbent to characterize an vital downtown- and near-Northside district that’s been dwelling to almost all the metropolis’s latest main improvement tasks.
This yr, her 9 opponents embrace many who had been motivated to run by their private expertise combating metropolis tasks in District 1, like VIA Metropolitan Transit’s Inexperienced Line, the brand new Missions’ Minor League Baseball stadium and a proposed NBA area.
Prior to now 30 days Kaur has spent greater than some other council incumbent and most mayoral hopefuls — plus the pro-business group San Antonio Fairness Alliance put $25,000 into the race on her behalf.
Hear from the complete checklist of District 1 candidates in our 2025 Voter Information.
Her best-funded opponent Julisa Medrano-Guerra, whose marketing campaign employed a personal investigator and funded an onslaught of assault adverts after the bar she owns didn’t get a building mitigation grant from town. She’s solely raised about $1,000 however spent about $63,000 of her personal cash.
Different high fundraisers embrace Patty Gibbons, a land surveyor and neighborhood chief who fought being redistricting into D1, and Susan Strawn, a former U.S. prosecutor who served on the River Highway Neighborhood Affiliation board and fought the removing of timber in Brackenride Park.
3. Metropolis Council District 4
Regardless of two years left of eligibility within the seat, this yr Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4) threw her identify in for mayor as an alternative of operating for reelection.
Longtime District 4 staffer Edward Mungia, who labored below each Rocha Garcia and Rey Saldaña and served on South San ISD’s board, was among the many early candidates to launch a marketing campaign to exchange her, and has led the pack in fundraising.
He faces opponents who say the metropolis’s Southwest Aspect is being left behind, together with McNair Center College principal Johnathon Cruz, former South San ISD trustee Ernesto Arrellano Jr. and trucking firm proprietor Jose “Pepe” Martinez.
4. Metropolis Council District 6
A race to characterize the fast-growing far West Aspect drew eight candidates this yr, as longtime Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6) leaves the seat to run for mayor.
Earlier than the left-leaning Cabello Havrda, D6 elected conservative Greg Brockhouse, so it’s politics are seen as considerably fickle. Notably, it’s one of many few races the place neither the police union nor the fireplace union have endorsed a candidate, and candidates’ backgrounds vary throughout the partisan spectrum.
Watch the candidates take part within the San Antonio Report’s District 6 debate.
Prime fundraisers embrace a former labor organizer from town’s worker union, Kelly Ann Gonzalez, in addition to former District 1 staffer Lawson Alaniz-Picasso. The race additionally options two Metropolis Corridor veterans, Vanessa Chavez and Gerald Lopez.
Different candidates embrace Democratic Socialists of America-backed Ric Galvan, libertarian activist Chris Baecker, a former Texas Home candidate who ran below each social gathering affiliations, Carlos Antonio Raymond, and a conservative-minded former councilman who was voted out amid a number of scandals, Bobby Herrera.
5. Metropolis Council District 8
District 8 on the Northwest Aspect contains a number of the wealthiest neighborhoods in San Antonio, and at instances appears little or no like the remainder of town.
The costly race to exchange Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8) has attracted a number of the most consideration amongst council races this yr, with candidates jockeying as early as final March.
Within the remaining weeks main as much as the election, two of the race’s high fundraisers have been attacking each other over unpaid taxes, a “fabricated” ethics criticism and accusations of influence-peddling.
One additionally obtained assist from a surprisingly well-funded new education-focused PAC with ties to public constitution faculty advocates.
6. Metropolis Council District 9
This far Northside race has change into one thing of a proxy conflict between native elected Democrats and Republicans, who lined up behind Angi Taylor Aramburu and Misty Spears, respectively.
Longtime Councilman John Braveness (D9) ran for workplace many instances as a Democrat earlier than serving on the council, and now that he’s leaving the seat, conservatives are keen to elect one among their very own in a district thought-about among the many metropolis’s most purple.
Spears has dominated in fundraising and has billboards sponsored by the police union, however confronted criticism about less-fiscally conservative private funds.
The race contains numerous compelling candidates value watching in our District 9 debate.
7. San Antonio ISD & 8. Northside ISD
College board races in San Antonio ISD and Northside ISD obtained heated this yr as academics’ unions have sought to advertise a brand new era of progressive leaders by these seats.
In SAISD’s uncommon District 1 race, practically $60,000 has been spent between the campaigns of union-backed Trustee Sarah Sorensen, who faces a problem from former Democratic state lawmaker, Mike Villarreal, who obtained assist from a business-backed PAC.
The competition drew endorsements from numerous San Antonio’s elected Democrats who break up their help between the 2 candidates, with U.S. Rep. Greg Casar and Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez behind Sorensen and state Rep. Diego Bernal and state Sen. José Menéndez behind Villarreal.
Northside ISD’s races have been a lot cheaper. However as union-backed challengers tackle longtime incumbents, a conservative group that was energetic in previous election cycles lately reemerged to help two incumbents, District 6 Trustee Carol Harle and District 7 Trustee Karen Freeman.
9. Alamo Faculties District & 10. East Central
In East Central ISD, all eyes will likely be on a bond proposal this Saturday, simply months after voters rejected the district’s final bond proposal.
The district got here again with a smaller ask this time, however not like close by districts the place enrollment numbers are shrinking, East Central’s leaders say their scholar inhabitants is rising quickly and so they desperately have to construct extra services to maintain up.
If the proposal fails, they’ll be left with few different choices to generate new income. A PAC to help it has spent about $17,000.
On the poll of all Bexar County voters this yr is a record-high practically $1 billion Alamo Faculties District bond to construct new services and create new tutorial applications.
Supporters embrace many enterprise leaders who say the cash is required to construct the county’s future workforce, whereas the Bexar GOP got here out towards it, saying native authorities already carries an excessive amount of debt. A PAC to help the bond has spent about $340,000.
