Nine percent of registered voters said they plan to vote for District 9 Councilman John Courage in May’s mayoral election. Credit: Jade Esteban Estrada

San Antonio City Councilman John Courage will formally launch his campaign for mayor Thursday afternoon, the Express-News reports.

Courage’s announcement in front of City Hall will make the District 9 councilman the first candidate to officially commit to the May 2025 race, according to the daily. Mayor Ron Nirenberg is currently currently serving his fourth and final term allowed under city rules.

Courage, a longtime Democrat, won the seat to represent his North Side district in 2017. Although District 9 is considered one of the city’s most conservative, Courage has handily won reelection three times by focusing on constituent concerns and avoiding fights over culture-war issues.

“I learned, a long time ago, the importance of being in the moment and listening to what the other person has to say, and understanding where they’re coming from before you’re ready to go ahead and develop your own thought and express that,” Courage told the Current in 2019.

Courage, 72, is an Air Force veteran who moved to the Alamo City in 1971 as part of his military service.

Although Courage is the only official candidate to formally commit to the race, District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez is mulling a run. District 4’s Adriana Rocha Garcia and District 6’s Melissa Cabello Havrda also have signaled recently they’re weighing mayoral campaigns, according to the San Antonio Report.

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This article appears in Jan 24 – Feb 6, 2024.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...