San Antonio mayoral candidate Manny Pelaez pumps $324,000 of own cash into campaign

How bad does Councilman Many Pelaez want to be mayor? Bad enough that he was willing to pump more than $300,000 of his own cash into his campaign.

Faced with competition from deep-pocketed rivals, the District 8 councilman flowed $324,000 of his own cash into his campaign during the Jan. 1-March 24 fundraising cycle, the Express- News reports, citing recent city filings.

With a month until the May 3 election, the infusion of personal cash gives Pelaez, a corporate attorney, more in his coffers than anyone else in the crowded to replace termed-out Mayor Ron Nirenberg, the daily reports.

Gina Ortiz Jones, a Democrat who served as Air Force undersecretary for the Biden White House, pulled in $167,000 during the most recent reporting cycle, making her the cycle’s top fundraiser, according to the Express-News. Meanwhile, Republican Rolando Pablos, former secretary of state under Gov. Greg Abbott, raised $165,000, while tech entrepreneur Beto Altamirano raked in $140,000.

Going into the final stretch, Pelaez now has just shy of $300,000 cash on hand. His next closest rivals in that department are Altamirano, who has around $212,000 in his war chest and Pablos who’s still got around $117,000.

The fresh cash infusion for Pelaez boosts his chances of ending up in the runoff that will probably be needed to determine SA’s next mayor, political consultant Demonte Alexander told the Express-News.

“You want to be able to have money left over for get-out-the-vote,” Alexander said. “That’s the time where whatever you have, you burn it on field canvassers, on a mail program, or on a text or email campaign.”

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This article appears in Apr 2-15, 2025.