Ron Nirenberg takes a playful jab at successor Gina Ortiz Jones over her demand to be called ‘Mayor Jones’

During a Thursday radio appearance, former San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg appeared to poke fun at his successor, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, who’s known as a stickler for etiquette at City Hall.

Nirenberg dropped by San Antonio Sports Star’s The Blitz with Jason & Joe to talk about — you guessed it — the proposed Project Marvel sports-and-entertainment development. As the episode got underway, co-host Joe Reinagel asked Nirenberg about his preferred title.

“Let’s start with the obvious,” Reinagel said. “Do I say former mayor? Just Ron? How do you get addressed these days?”

“I told you to keep calling me Ron when I was in office,” Nirenberg quipped. “You shouldn’t have stopped. I was born Ron, I was Ron while I was in office and I’m Ron now. So, Joe, just keep calling me Ron.”

“Ron’s” response, which garnered laughs from Reinagel and his co-host, Jason Minnix, seemed to be a light-hearted joke directed at Jones, a former Under Secretary of the Air Force who served as an intelligence officer in that military branch.

Jones grabbed headlines last month after she unveiled new etiquette procedures for City Hall staffers and council colleagues. One of those is that she be referred to as “Mayor Jones” in direct and indirect conversation and even when she’s not present in the room.

It’s worth noting that Nirenberg didn’t endorse Jones for mayor, even though both are Democrats and she ran against Republican Rolando Pablos.

Jones’ other City Hall rules include banning council members from bringing their cell phones into executive sessions, texting during meetings and standing up before she formally ends council sessions. The guidelines are departure from the less formal atmosphere under Nirenberg. During his time presiding over the dais, council members snacked and worked on their computers during meetings.

Nirenberg’s appearance on San Antonio Sport Star came days after District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte joined Reingel and Minnix to discuss Project Marvel. Both Nirenberg and Whyte advocated against Jones’ plan to commission a second economic impact study on the pricy and controversial project.

Jones has been on a media blitz to garner public support for new analysis and a “strategic pause” in negotiations with Spurs Sports & Entertainment on a new downtown arena that would be part of Project Marvel. Despite those pleas, a majority of council earlier this month instructed City Manager Erik Walsh to continue negotiations with SS&E with the hope of voting on a non-binding agreement by the end of the month.

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This article appears in Aug 7-20, 2025.