San Antonio mayoral contender Rolando Pablos accused rival Gina Ortiz Jones and her campaign manager of cheating during a televised debate last week, KSAT reports.
During a Univision debate taped Thursday, moderators discussed funding for the Spurs’ proposed $1.5 billion downtown arena. In an April Express-News candidate survey, Pablos said he’s open to the city fronting half the cost.
While responding to the question, Jones pulled out her cell phone, saying she needed it review the results of the candidate survey, a questionnaire to which she didn’t respond.
After she pulled out her phone, Pablos, in Spanish, said Jones’ use of the device was against the rules of the debate. A Univision producer promptly confiscated the phone.
Pablos campaign manager Justin Hollis also shoot footage on his phone of what he claims is Jones’ campaign manager, Jordan Abelson, texting her from elsewhere in the studio.
“They dodge the press, they break the rules, they’re not transparent,” Hollis told KSAT. “Do we really want a mayor who won’t even answer a question on election night and has to use her phone to get an advantage over her opponent?”
Both candidates agreed to terms of the Univision debate, which stated that cell phone use was prohibited.
Abelson denied texting answers to Jones during the debate. The campaign manager maintained she’d sent Jones screenshots of the Express-News questionnaire, but did so Wednesday, not as the Univision debate unfolded.
“This is a clear attempt by the Pablos campaign to divert attention away from his poor performance at the debate,” Abelson said in a statement to KSAT. “The truth is [Gov.] Greg Abbott appointed Rolando Pablos to the highest unelected office in the state, and now it’s time for Rolando to pay him back. We don’t need an Abbott puppet running San Antonio.”
Meanwhile, in a statement to the news station, the Pablos campaign told San Antonio voters to judge Jones not by what she says but by what she does.
“I urge voters to judge her by her recent actions, because we cannot have a leader who is a cheater,” Pablos said.
Both candidates will debate again this Tuesday at Stable Hall. Tickets to that debate are available through the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce website.
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This article appears in May 14-27, 2025.