Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, right, speaks during a candidate forum hosted by the Metro SA Chamber on Friday. Credit: Michael Karlis

Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai ripped his Democratic primary challenger, former Mayor Ron Nirenberg, over his “failed” Ready to Work job-training program during Friday’s debate between the two political rivals.

“I’m going to go on the record: the Ready to Work Program has not created a return on investment,” the normally reserved Sakai said. “The projected goals have not been met. It was a tremendous diversion of sales tax from the Edwards Aquifer protection to Ready to Work, and I think that’s created severe consequences regarding protection for the aquifer.”

The event, held at Alamo Colleges District headquarters, was the first debate between the two men since Nirenberg announced plans to unseat the fellow Democrat last fall. Sakai is still serving his first term as the county’s top elected official.

Nirenberg has been on a blitz since the start of the new year. Over the past three weeks, the former mayor has launched a TV spot for his campaign, hosted a historic rally in San Antonio’s LGBTQ+ nightlife district and delivered a riveting anti-ICE speech at City Hall, while Sakai has largely watched from the sidelines.

After Sakai’s full frontal assault at the debate, Nirenberg tried to spin Ready to Work as something that hasn’t yet shown its full potential because it’s still building steam. The former mayor championed the initiative as a bold, long-term bid to remedy the city’s problem with generational poverty.

“I talk to communities outside of San Antonio, and they recognize that San Antonio has one of the best resource-workforce pipelines in the country, from early childhood with [Pre-K for SA] all the way through Alamo Promise and now adult workforce training through Ready to Work,” Nirenberg said.

However, Sakai called bullshit, arguing that the 3,200 jobs created so far under Ready to Work pale to the bold projections Nirenberg and others originally held up for the program.

“3,200 jobs? When the projection was 40,000, it was reduced to 26,000, and then to 18,000 — if it’s still going? [We have spent] $200 million for 3,200 jobs,” Sakai said. “More importantly, we don’t see those jobs going to the employers that are participating. The program has not been a success.”

Ready to Work to date has cost the city $230 million, with about 5,800 successfully completing the program, according to city data.

Sakai pointed to county-funded job-training program Texas Fast Track, which he helped spearhead. He couched his project as a stronger alternative to Ready to Work that also provides training in a more cost-effective way.

“Fast Track has a 90% graduation and 90% retention rate by the employers because it’s employer-driven,” Sakai said. “How did that happen? Because I listened to the employers, and we created programs. Texas Fast Track is a 10-week program. We operate at a fraction of what Ready to Work does.”

Sakai’s aggressive posture probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who have been following his contest with Nirenberg. The county judge seat has long been held by Democrats, meaning the primary is Sakai’s biggest hurdle to keeping his job.

Indeed, days after Nirenberg announced his intention to primary Sakai, the former mayor’s one-time political consultant, Kelton Morgan, told the Current that Ready to Work would likely come back to haunt the campaign.

“Anybody who wants to [run against Nirenberg] should hang Ready to Work around his neck like an anchor,” Morgan said. “That’s been the most disastrous policy failure by any possible metric.”

Nirenberg and Sakai will next face off Tuesday, Feb. 10, at Stable Hall in a debate hosted by the San Antonio Report, the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and Tech Bloc.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...