Gina Ortiz Jones is leading the pack in a new poll by the University of of Texas at San Antonio’s Center for Public Opinion and Research. Credit: Courtesy Photo / Gina Ortiz Jones

With the Dec. 4 unveiling of her run for San Antonio mayor, former Under Secretary of the U.S. Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones became a candidate to watch in the crowded race.

Jones, a Democrat with two near-miss congressional races under her belt, said she’s raised more than $100,000 to support her mayoral run, and she’s landed the endorsement of the well-funded VoteVets progressive PAC.

The San Antonio native and John Jay High School grad also boasts an impressive resume. The daughter of a Filipino immigrant, she holds five university degrees and rose up the U.S. military ranks, serving as an Air Force Intelligence Officer before joining AFRICOM, where she served during South Sudan’s independence vote and Libya’s civil war.

Jones also held a trade position in the Obama White House, where she took on China’s ongoing trademark infringement issues. Further, she’s the first LGBTQ+ woman of color to serve as Air Force under secretary, a job where she managed a $170 billion budget.

Adding to her political clout, Jones twice ran to represent the San Antonio and South Texas congressional district currently served by U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, a moderate Republican.

“Everyone in this city — young professionals, working families, retirees, our young people and our veterans — deserve a mayor that will fight for them and deliver results, and I look forward to doing just that,” Jones, 43, said in a statement when she announced her candidacy.

While Jones has a background and war chest any other candidate in the crowded 2025 mayoral race would envy, it’s an open question how that experience will translates to city politics — and how much clout it holds with local voters.

During an hour-long late-December interview with the Current, Jones frequently veered toward discussing state and national issues rather than those centered around City Hall, and she also appeared unfamiliar with some key stories in the local news cycle.

City Hall outsider

In a city where a quarter of the population is functionally illiterate and nearly 20% live in poverty, Jones identified a lack of broadband internet access as one of the most important local issues.

“We like to call ourselves Cyber City USA, but over half of the families in our community qualified for that federal subsidy just to get high-speed broadband internet,” Jones said. “So to me, that’s a disconnect. I think we’ve got to talk about cyber strength overall.”

Jones didn’t elaborate on how she plans to connect more Alamo City residents to cheap broadband access, though.

Jones also cited affordable housing as one of San Antonio’s top issues. This issue has grabbed recent headlines due to the pending demolition of downtown’s low-cost Soap Factory apartments and a City Council vote against an affordable housing complex opposed by North Side residents.

However, Jones once again was unable to offer a detailed plan for tackling such a complex issue.

“We can work with a team of experts to do that,” Jones said. “I think there are opportunities where you can improve access to affordable housing, but at the end end of the day, we’ve got to increase the supply, right?”

Leadership focus

During the interview, Jones voiced concern about Texas’ abortion ban and the incoming Trump administration’s planned mass deportations and tariffs on Mexico — policies she identified as especially consequential to San Antonio residents.

“At the end of the day, the continued delay and denial of life-saving care for women in Texas, that is a choice,” Jones said.

When asked what she would be able to do as San Antonio mayor to counter policies set at the state or national level, Jones pivoted, arguing that her past roles in D.C. uniquely qualify her to lead.

Laura Barberena, the longtime political consultant running Councilman Manny Pelaez’s mayoral campaign, maintains that however impressive Jones’ resume, she’s an outsider when it comes to San Antonio’s city politics. That will be a handicap in the 2025 race, Barberena added.

“[Jones’] service to our nation’s military is commendable and deserving of our respect,” Barberena said. “However, when it comes to politics it’s worth noting that her political track record consists of two failed congressional campaigns and no experience in municipal government. Running a city as dynamic and complex as San Antonio requires more than ambition — it requires hands-on experience with local policies and governance, and a meaningful connection to the people in the community.”

Even so, Jones said her background has prepared her to take on the city’s top leadership role.

“I know about leadership,” she said. “I think that is fundamental to what a mayor does at the end of the day. Like in any organization, you’re going to have experts that understand housing policy or green-space policy or water policy. But leadership takes setting a vision and holding folks accountable if they’re not acting in the way that they were elected to lead.”

It remains to be seen how ready San Antonio voters are to make that leap of faith. Jones has until May to make her case.

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