Moving San Antonio’s off-year municipal elections from May to November, which at first appeared to be a slam-dunk proposal from Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, got a surprising amount of pushback at a Wednesday City Council session.
Indeed, the proposal has drawn endorsements from former mayors Henry Cisneros, Nelson Wolff, Phil Hardberger, Julián Castro and Ron Nirenberg.
Jones began the meeting by inviting Rice University political scientist Melissa Marschall to discuss research showing that shifting municipal elections to November increases voter turnout, saves money and draws low-income and younger voters who normally stay at home.
Despite the testimony and endorsements by former city leaders, a majority of council members were either on the fence or expressed staunch opposition to the idea.
District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte said he opposes the move because San Antonio voters won’t get a chance vote on it in a ballot initiative. When Dallas moved its municipal elections to November, voters had a say in the matter, he said.
San Antonio is the only large city in Texas to not have unified elections in odd-year contests, and it also has among the lowest voter turnouts among Texas cities.
Meanwhile, District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur and District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo questioned whether San Antonio’s numerous, already underfunded school districts would be forced to foot the bill for their elections if they’re still to occur in May.
District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito, who’s been a vocal opponent of Jones and is rumored to be gearing up for a 2029 mayoral run, questioned the cost-saving figures offered by City Manager Erik Walsh.
In recent weeks, Jones has said that moving the city’s off-year elections to November would save San Antonio $800,000 and $1 million per cycle. However, Walsh told council that those figures were more or less a guesstimate and not rooted in hard data.
“The cost of the elections is administered and borne by the county elections office,” Walsh told council. “We don’t have a breakdown or details about what future [costs] are. We can show you what the past is, because the future is based on who all is on the ballot.”
Walsh continued: “This isn’t necessarily cost-saving. We’re not reducing the budget or balancing the budget. Cost is a factor here, but it’s more of a policy conversation.”
Only District 2’s Councilman’s Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, District 3’s Phyllis Viagran and District 4’s Edward Mungia said they were in full support of Jones’ proposal.
Jones initially said she planned to add a vote on the matter to council’s Dec. 18 agenda. However, the vote hasn’t yet been scheduled as of press time.
San Antonio City Council only has until Dec. 31 to decide whether to move the elections before a window set by the Texas Legislature expires.
Stay tuned.
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