Despite ties to Greg Abbott, San Antonio mayoral candidate Rolando Pablos says he’s his ‘own man’

During a Monday candidate forum, Republican San Antonio mayoral hopeful Rolando Pablos proclaimed “he’s his own man” after his opponent tried to connect him to Gov. Greg Abbott.

Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones, who will face Pablos in a June 7 runoff, has tried to paint her rival as an Abbott lackey due to his time as Texas Secretary of State under the Republican governor and money flowing into his campaign from a right-wing PAC.

Jones pointed out those connections during Monday’s Early Childhood and Youth Priorities forum at the East Side’s Region 20 Education Service Center. She questioned whether Pablos — a former Abbott appointee — cares about diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and local LGBTQIA+ youth.

“You’ve got to actually trust that person is going to have your back,” Jones said of the Alamo City’s next mayor. “Rolando served as the Secretary of State to Greg Abbott. Greg Abbott is leading the charge on attacks on these programs.”

However, Pablos fired back, insisting the governor isn’t influencing his campaign’s platform or talking points.

“She’s been affiliating me with Greg Abbott this entire time, and look, I have to tell you, I’m my own man,” Pablos said. “I have lived experiences, I have children going through the process, particularly one with special needs. So, to … say that because Greg Abbott is doing something, I want to do it is disingenuous.”

Jones smirked and gave Pablos a sideways glance during his response.

Pablos’ campaign is backed by the Texas Economic Fund, a PAC formed to elect conservative candidates at the local level. The group’s political strategist, Mitchell Carney, previously worked as one of Abbott’s senior campaign advisors, and Carney’s father Dave is the governor’s longtime political strategist.

Even so, Pablos has split with Abbott while discussing the governor’s prized school voucher legislation on the campaign trail.

Although Pablos said he believes in a parent’s right to choose what school their child attends, he added during a recent San Antonio College mayoral debate that he has questions about how the voucher program would be implemented.

On Monday, Pablos criticized Abbott, and also the Texas Senate, for dragging their feet in approving House Bill 2, an $8 billion public education package that aims to mitigate school funding deficits created by the governor’s voucher program.

“If we didn’t have this forum, I’d be in Austin today camping out to make sure that bill happens, because we cannot defund our public schools,” Pablos said.

Pablos, whose daughter has Down syndrome and is a student in San Antonio’s public North East Independent School District, also expressed concerns about how vouchers will affect children with disabilities.

Although Jones has tried to connect Pablos to Abbott, the Republican’s campaign has largely refrained from efforts to paint Jones as a Beltway insider, event though progressive groups outside of San Antonio contributed much of her campaign financing.

The candidates next will face off in a Monday, May 19, debate at Stable Hall hosted by the San Antonio Report and the Greater San Antonio Chamber. Registration to attend the debate is available at the chamber’s website.

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This article appears in Apr 30 – May 13, 2025.