San Antonio mayoral hopeful Gina Ortiz Jones refuses to answer Express-News question about her middle name

After being pressed about the origin of her middle name by her rival in San Antoni’s mayoral runoff, candidate Gina Ortiz Jones has declined to answer the Express-News’ questions about when she first began using it.

The daily reached out to Jones for a Thursday story about attack ads by rival Rolando Pablos that accuse her of using the name Ortiz to increase her appeal to the city’s Latino voters.

“Drop it – you’re not Latina,” the online ad paid for by the Pablos for Mayor campaign says. The clip encourages San Antonians to “vote for the real thing” in an apparent reference to the heritage of Pablos, who was born in Mexico.

Jones refused to acknowledge the attacks on her middle name during recent debates. She pivoted from the question completely when pressed about it by Pablos during a mayoral forum at Stable Hall earlier this month.

However, as Pablos’ attacks intensified, Jones’ campaign earlier this week sent out a text to voters accusing her rival of being racist.

“Has Rolando Pablos been sending you racist texts? Yeah, me too,” the message states.

However, when Express-News reporter Molly Smith pressed Jones to explain how Pablos’ text was racist, the candidate and her campaign manager, Jordan Abelson, appeared to go on the attack.

“Do you not think it’s racist?” Jones quipped, according to the daily.

Abelson jumped in, adding, “Antagonizing someone on their race is the definition of racism.”

Jones declined to answer when she started using her middle name professionally, the Express-News also reports.

Jones told the Current in January that she uses the name Ortiz to honor her mother’s maiden name, something common but not standard within Filipino families. Jones is of Filipino ancestry, and her mother immigrated to the U.S.

It’s not the first time a political rival has targeted Jones over her middle name. In 2018, when she ran as a Democrat for a seat in South Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, the National Republican Congressional Committee bought attack ads accusing her of attempting to hoodwink Latino voters by using the name Ortiz.

The Bexar County GOP employed similar tactics against failed Democratic candidate Kristian Carranza in the race for Texas House District 118 last year.

Carranza legally changed her name from Thompson nine months before filing her election campaign paperwork. Carranza said she changed her name to her mother’s maiden name since that’s who raised her after her father walked out on the family when she was a baby.

Early voting for the mayoral runoff runs through June 3. Polls will then reopen from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on June 7, Election Day. Residents can find polling station information and verify their registration status by visiting the Bexar County Election Department’s website.

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This article appears in May 29 – Jun 11, 2025.