San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s career is filled with examples of carefully trying to tread the political middle, but as his mayoral administration winds down, he’s going all in to help Democrats secure the White House.
This summer Nirenberg, who is term-limited from seeking reelection, launched a political group to help Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and became an official surrogate for the Democratic presidential ticket.
The work has taken him to Las Vegas, New Hampshire and now Chicago for the Democratic National Convention, where he’ll be speaking to national media on Harris’ behalf, attending delegation breakfasts with other up-and-coming Democratic leaders and hosting a reception with other Asian American and Pacific Islanders.
Speculation has swirled about what it all means for Nirenberg’s future, in particular whether he could be in line for a role in Harris’ presidential administration as former Housing and Urban Development Sceretary Julián Castro advanced to from the mayor’s office in 2014.
Those close to Nirenberg, however, point to the unprecedented federal dollars flowing to San Antonio under the current Democratic presidential administration — for Advanced Rapid Transit bus lines, redevelopment of the San Antonio International Airport and the workforce development program Ready to Work, to name a few examples.
There’s still lots more money to be doled out from the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the mayor has already spent significant time pitching Cabinet officials on why those funds should come to San Antonio.
“Just a couple of years ago, we had the great pleasure of inviting Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh to visit the union hall in San Antonio,” Nirenberg told attendees at a labor breakfast at the Henry B. González Convention Center on Saturday. “Did you know that was the first time a secretary of labor ever set foot at a San Antonio labor hall. That was Marty Walsh, and that was President Joe Biden and that was Vice President Kamala Harris.”
The San Antonio Report caught up with Nirenberg later that day, after he endorsed another high-profile Democrat, U.S. Senate candidate Colin Allred, to talk about his sudden surge of partisan political activity.
San Antonio Report: Political observers have noticed the uptick in your campaign activity on behalf of national Democrats, particularly when it comes to the presidential race between Harris and former President Donald Trump. What’s motivating you?
Mayor Ron Nirenberg: I think America has a very stark choice to make between two directions for our country, one that will lead us forward and one that will quite simply lead us very far backward. Fighting for working families, building rebuilding our infrastructure, making sure that we restore our rights, protect the rights that we do have, is the hallmark of the Harris campaign, and I’m going to do everything I can to help them win.
SAR: How does this compare to what you were doing during the last presidential race in 2020 between Biden and Trump?
Nirenberg: I involved myself as best I could, but at that point in my mayoral tenure there weren’t as many options to get involved. We had our hands full here in the midst of a pandemic. I’m in the tail end of my career now, and I have some flexibility to get more involved in the campaign.
SAR: From your perspective, what’s on the line for San Antonio in this election?
Nirenberg: The contrast between the first four years of my tenure under the Trump Administration, to what we’ve seen now with the Biden/Harris administration, couldn’t be more different. Having federal dollars for infrastructure projects where we need it, the administration’s backstops to protect us against backward policy that’s happening in the state of Texas.
As far as specific projects, there’s airport mass transit, which will be breaking ground on later in the year. We kept 65,000 families in their homes with rental assistance through [the American Rescue Plan Act] and other HUD dollars. We’re delivering on digital infrastructure. You’ve heard about the non-legislative relief through things like the health care policy caps. The list goes on and on.
SAR: What does that mean for you and your schedule leading up to the election this November?
Nirenberg: I’m a surrogate for the [Harris] campaign, so they’ve asked me to go out and help with GOTV [get out the vote] efforts and to help make sure that we’re representing Vice President Harris’s voice on the campaign trail. … It’s really based on our availability and willingness to get out there. I think that there’s so much on the line in this election, I’m going to do everything I can with as much time as I have available.
I’ll also be making sure that our neighbors here, in my capacity as a citizen, understand the importance of the election and who they should cast their votes for.
SAR: How does having San Antonio’s mayor as a surrogate help the Harris campaign?
Nirenberg: President Biden and Vice President Harris both have strong ties with mayors. On the ground, we work with our constituents as directly as any level of government does, and so they have really worked with us to help connect constituents with the good work that they’re doing, and to also hear from our cities, our communities.
I’m in a network of mayors that are trying to get involved [for Harris in the presidential election]. San Antonio is the seventh most populous city in the United States, we’re the largest Latino-majority city in the country, so I think we have a unique voice to share.
