Despite concerns she may have racked up early-campaign missteps, Gina Ortiz Jones will become San Antonio’s first openly gay mayor and only the third woman to hold the office.
Jones — who served as Under Secretary of the Air Force during the Biden Administration — beat Rolando Pablos, a former Texas Secretary of State aligned with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, 54%-46% in Saturday’s runoff election.
A two-time South Texas Democratic congressional candidate, Jones painted herself as a progressive eager to protect the Alamo City from the clutches of Abbott and President Donald Trump. She also promised to grow Pre-K for SA and expand broadband internet access in poor neighborhoods while showing a wariness about spending public funds on Project Marvel, the city’s proposed downtown sports-and-entertainment district.
“There’s a lot going on on the state level, a lot going on on the federal level, but we here are in San Antonio — deep in the heart of Texas — reminded folks what San Antonio stands for,” Jones told supporters at her election watch party at Dakota East Side Ice House. “We reminded them that our city is about compassion and it’s about leading with everybody in mind.”
Some 17% of San Antonio’s registered voters turned out for Saturday’s runoff, rivaling the turnout for the hotly contested 2021 matchup between Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Greg Brockhouse. The number far exceeded analysts’ expectations.
“Originally, it looked like Pablos did a good job getting people to turn out in early voting, but [Jones] actually won that by a lot — and she also won election-day voting,” UTSA political scientist Jon Taylor told the Current. “I’m truly surprised.”
Despite his close alignment to Abbott, who’s unpopular in San Antonio, Pablos portrayed himself not as a culture warrior but as a fiscal conservative focused on economic development, crime and poverty reduction.
“I will continue to serve this community with pride,” Pablos told supporters at his campaign watch party. “We want the best for this community and for our families.”
While Jones racked up a convincing victory, her campaign was anything but smooth sailing.
The candidate took heat for not speaking to the media following the May 3 general election, and the Pablos campaign raised allegations that she used her cell phone to cheat during a televised debate.
Although outside partisan money flowed into both races, Pablos had a considerable financial advantage and the backing of a deep-pocketed Abbott-tied PAC. The candidate and his allies used that funding for $1 million in ad buys, including a spate of negative spots about Jones.
However, in the end, the Jones campaign brought together a diverse, citywide coalition that erased the spending difference, UTSA’s Taylor said. During her watch party, Jones thanked a litany of progressive organizations ranging from the Texas Organizing Project to Vote Vets to San Antonio LGBTQ+ groups for getting out the vote.
“They had a really good mobilization effort, and they brought in a lot of organizations that are really good at getting people to the polls,” Taylor said.
What’s more, anger about the Trump administration’s increasingly extreme immigration policies, combined with concerns about what some speculate is the homophobic killing of San Antonio actor Jonathan Joss, may have boosted Election Day turnout in Jones’ favor, Taylor speculated.
“Those issues came up late [and] I’m not sure they impacted all the voters, but it was definitely in the background,” he said. “I think ultimately, this a blue city, and we defaulted to a blue candidate for mayor.”
As mayor, Jones will have to deal with a $150 million budget deficit and the controversy around Project Marvel while tackling the city’s persistent issues such as generational poverty and its lagging education levels.
Jones, along with five new city council members, will be sworn in June 18.
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This article appears in May 29 – Jun 11, 2025.