Susan Strawn is an attorney who served as a prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice. She’s also held leadership positions on the board of the River Road Neighborhood Association.
Hear from the candidate
Please tell voters about yourself.
A Houston native, I moved to San Antonio in 2012. Charmed by the city’s history and culture, I settled into the River Road Neighborhood. I have twice been elected to the neighborhood board, including as Vice-Chair. I also serve on the Brackenridge Park Stakeholders Committee and the University of Texas Law School San Antonio Steering Committee.
Professionally, I have served as a Department of Justice prosecutor for 26 years, including seven years in the San Antonio U.S. Attorney’s Office, fighting waste, fraud and abuse in government procurement, contracting and programs.
Most recently, I served as the National Coordinator for civil fraud enforcement and healthcare fraud. I also served as CEO of an anti-fraud whistleblower organization, and have worked in post-war Kosovo and West Africa on anti-corruption and financial crimes enforcement. I have a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and an undergraduate degree in history from Princeton.
List any previous experience in government or participation on local boards, commissions, or neighborhood associations.
I’ve served on the River Road Neighborhood Association Board twice, and am on the Brackenridge Park Stakeholders Committee. In these roles, I’ve learned about the City’s approach to public engagement, historic preservation, zoning, contracting, revenue vehicles and other matters.
I served in the Department of Justice for over 26 years. For the last six years, I’ve provided oversight of a $125 million program supporting U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide in countering fraud in government programs, procurement and contracts. The program, working with other DOJ offices, returned over $2.9 billion to the government in 2024. I managed policy, budget, legislation, data analytics and forensic accountant contracts, programmatic audit response, and national enforcement initiatives. I served on the multi-agency national Task Forces for Covid Fraud Enforcement and Opioid Civil Litigation, chairing several committees. In 2008, I was the Democratic nominee for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
In the city’s 2024-2025 budget survey, residents ranked homelessness, streets, housing and animal care services among their top concerns for the city to address. Which issues do you consider a top concern for District 1 and how would you work to address them in your first 100 days?
In the current survey, District 1’s top concerns are streets and sidewalks. These are solvable problems. But, despite significant spending, results are lacking—shuttered businesses from lengthy delays and resulting streetscapes lacking the promised amenities and pedestrian improvements. We can do better. I’ll push for an external audit to improve planning, contracting, and oversight to ensure that spending delivers as promised. I’ll also collaborate with neighborhoods to prioritize smaller but high-impact projects that enhance our neighborhoods’ public safety, walkability, bike and pedestrian safety, tree canopy, and local businesses.
We need a thorough cost/benefit and risk analysis of Project Marvel. Its multi-billion-dollar price tag must be evaluated in terms of opportunity costs—what else could these funds support? The venue tax could fund parks, theaters, aquifer protection, and more, while the TIRZ diverts money from the general fund. Additionally, the proposed I-37 land bridge would require federal and state cooperation, which seems unlikely in the current climate.
I’ll advocate for risk analysis and contingency planning in the budget to prepare for potential federal funding cuts affecting city services and federal grants for programs that serve our residents, including the elderly. We must identify critical services at risk of cuts, and prepare.
In a crowded field of council candidates, what differentiates you from the others?
I believe my experience differentiates me. As a neighborhood leader, I have worked on issues important to residents in our neighborhoods and felt the frustration of not being heard by City Hall. I will use what I have learned to improve transparency, communication and neighborhood input in both the planning process and, importantly, in implementation to make sure promises about projects are kept. As a lawyer, I have the training and experience to quickly understand laws impacting city actions and complex, multi-faceted issues.
As a prosecutor focused on waste, fraud and abuse, I can ask the right questions, evaluate information, and support evidence-based, effective solutions. I have experience working with a wide-range of stakeholders to formulate policy, shape budgets and provide program oversight. Last, I have experience in effective oversight, including audit and inspectors general procedures, that will allow me to work to improve the oversight provided by Council.
If elected, how do you plan to solicit input and feedback from residents in your district?
District One benefits from a wealth of strong neighborhood associations and other civic groups. They provide information about their members’ views, but also have expertise and historical knowledge that is invaluable to decision-making processes. Given opportunity, they can serve as force-multipliers for District and City staff, providing information and context and helping to build consensus. However, many feel that they are living in a state of vigilance, on guard against an unexpected project from City Hall.
I will work hard to provide timely information to residents about upcoming projects, and solicit meaningful input before sometimes millions is spent in planning. Of course, this means that communication must also be improved between City staff and Council. I will work to open those lines of communication as well. Last, I will solicit representation from neighborhoods for boards and commissions dealing with neighborhood issues, so that appointees can provide direct input and feedback.
Read more about Susan Strawn
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