In the final stretch before San Antonio’s May 3 municipal election, tech entrepreneur Beto Altamirano massively outspent the next highest-spending mayoral candidates and received help from a new PAC.

Altamirano and his supporting PAC, called SA Future, reported spending a total of about $465,000 in the past month. Of that, about $385,000 was from Altamirano’s campaign.

The only other candidates in a position to rival that type spending were Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8), who recently loaned his campaign large sums of personal money, former Air Force Under Secretary Gina Ortiz Jones, who has ties to major Democratic donors from two congressional races, and former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, who was endorsed by a GOP PAC that set a massive budget for the mayoral race.

Campaign finance reports covering March 25 through April 23 were due Friday, shedding light on candidates’ fundraising and campaign spending in the final weeks leading up to early voting.

Pelaez, who submitted his report late, spent $282,000 on his campaign and received help from an outside group, San Antonio for Everyone, that’s running ads supporting him as well as general interest ads about the election.

Pablos’ campaign spent a fraction of what Altamirano and Pelaez spent, about $76,000. But combined with the pro-Pablos PAC, Texas Economic Fund, a total of about $300,000 was spent on his behalf.

Jones, who has led the race in public polling, had about $194,000 spent on her behalf, including from her campaign and a supporting PAC.

None of the other 27 mayoral candidates had anywhere close to as much money spent on their behalf, thanks in large part to the PAC money.

Candidates and the PACs supporting them can still cash checks and pay for goods and services up to election day and beyond, so these reports aren’t a complete picture of what will be spent on the May 3 election.

But they can offer a good sense of which candidates have the money needed to reach and turn out their voters in an otherwise crowded, confusing election.

Read about all of the candidates in the San Antonio Report’s 2025 Voter Guide.

If no candidate takes at least 50% of the vote on May 3, the top two finishers will advance to a June 7 runoff — as is expected for the mayoral race and several council races — and will file additional campaign finance reports before that race.

Early voting runs through April 29, and voters can choose from any of these 46 early voting locations. Election day is May 3, with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

These are the San Antonio Report’s top takeaways from the latest fundraising reports.

1. A top spending tier emerges

San Antonio is electing a new mayor this year and in a field of 27 candidates, four stand out from the pack in terms of personal fundraising.

These candidates have also received significant help from outside groups spending on their behalf, most of which only appeared for the first time on the most recent campaign finance reports.

On the April 23 reports, other top spenders included: Former Councilman Clayton Perry, who spent $80,000, Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4), who spent $60,000 and Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6), who spent $35,000.

Councilman John Courage (D9), who was polling in second place earlier this month, spent just $5,500.

None of these candidates appear to have PACs supporting them to the same degree as the four spending leaders.

The widening fundraising gap comes as many local political groups, like the police and fire unions, decided not to endorse in the crowded mayor’s race until the runoff, if at all.

2. State and federal PACs pile in

So far two candidates, Pablos and Jones, are benefitting from the help of PACs that want San Antonio’s mayoral race to be a springboard for higher office.

San Antonio caps the amount mayoral candidates can raise from individual donors at $1,000 per election cycle, while PACs can raise unlimited funds, they’re just not allowed to coordinate directly with a candidate’s campaign.

Pablos, a close ally of Texas GOP leaders, is receiving help from the Gov. Greg Abbott-aligned Texas Economic Fund, which wants to “strengthen the conservative bench by targeting pivotal local elections.”

Pablos served as Secretary of State and chair of the Public Utility Commission, and the group has been running TV ads saying he has experience bringing jobs to Texas and that he will work to lower utility costs.

Though its leaders telegraphed plans for a $2 million budget, campaign finance reports covering Jan 1. to April 23 say it has raised a total of roughly $260,000 and spent $243,000, almost all of which took place in the past month.

Meanwhile Jones, who ran for Congress twice as a Democrat, is getting help from a group called Fields of Change — a subsidiary of a PAC that helps Democrats at the federal level.

Based out of Georgia, the group says it aims to elect the “next generation of new, dynamic leaders” though state and local races, and it reported spending $105,000 in the San Antonio mayoral race.

Jones has also received endorsements from several national groups that supported her in the past, such as a PAC aligned with Democratic Congresswomen and Vote Vets, which supports veteran candidates who are running as Democrats.

3. Business-aligned group backs Beto

A PAC supporting Altamirano, who owns an artificial intelligence company, appeared for the first time on the most recent reports, indicating it spent $60,000 on his behalf.

The group, SA Future, listed as its treasurer Raul Lomeli, the cofounder of a tech company and a former San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce chair. Lomeli did not respond to a voicemail requesting comment for the story.

The PAC collected contributions from just three sources: $1,000 from a pro-charter school PAC, and $35,000 each from two San Antonio businesses with virtually no online presence. One of them, Blue Hole Ventures, LLC, appears to have been registered four months ago.

Altamirano has put significant personal resources to the race, and recently loaned himself another $75,000, according to his most recent report.

His campaign faced an ethics complaint filed by a San Antonio resident earlier this month alleging that some of his contributions appear to have come from limited liability corporations with untraceable sources due to their out-of-state incorporation. The matter is being reviewed by an outside attorney the city hired to look into it.

4. Dark money for Manny

Pelaez, an attorney who represents the city’s Northwest side, also has an outside group supporting him in the race, called San Antonio for Everyone, which reported spending $136,000 in the past 30 days.

The group is registered as a 501c4 social welfare group, meaning it doesn’t have to disclose its donors. It’s also limited in how much of its money can be spent on direct political advocacy.

San Antonio for Everyone is running ads specifically promoting Pelaez, but more than half of its spending must go toward ads promoting apolitical causes like civic engagement, or encouraging people to vote, said Andrew Cates, an attorney for the group.

The group is running TV ads promoting Pelaez’s support for local law enforcement, as well as more generic get-out-the-vote ads.

Documents filed with KSAT-TV, where the ads were booked, list an employee of San Antonio-based Viva Politics consulting firm as San Antonio for Everyone’s point of contact.

The same campaign firm runs Pelaez’s mayoral campaign.

5. Expensive race for downtown’s D1 council seat

Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1), who faces nine challengers in a tough reelection race, spent more than any other council member according to the most recent reports.

Kaur reported spending about $76,000 between March 24 and April 23, and the pro-business group San Antonio Equity Alliance put $25,000 into the race on her behalf.

District 1 includes much of downtown and the neighborhoods stretching north between Interstate 10 and U.S. 281 — home to major development projects like the new Missions’ Minor League Baseball stadium, Project Marvel and plans for high-density housing along a new rapid transit route on San Pedro Avenue.

Kaur has supported those initiatives, but her opponents this year include several candidates who’ve fought against city development projects at City Hall.

Top-spending opponents included Patty Gibbons, a former Greater Harmony Hills Neighborhood Association President, who spent about $15,000, and Susan Strawn, who served on the River Road Neighborhood Association board, and spent about $11,000.

Bar owner Julisa Medrano-Guerra, whose campaign has funded an onslaught of ads attacking Kaur, is self-funding a campaign that’s raised just $1,000 since she joined the race in February, but spent a total of about $63,000.

6. Pro-charter school group has deep pockets

A new education-focused group appears poised to become a major player in local elections, reporting about $385,000 in the bank for one of its political arms.

The umbrella group, Futuro San Antonio, says its goal is increasing “voter engagement around equitable access to great public education,” and it held a candidate forum in City Council District 6 this year asking council hopefuls how they would work to get the city more involved in public education, which is overseen by the state.

Futuro’s leaders have been meeting with candidates for mayor and council and contributed to numerous campaigns this election cycle, though it’s only formally endorsed one candidate, Sakib Shaikh, a realtor and landlord running in City Council District 8.

Some public school advocates have been critical of the group, saying its leaders aren’t being clear about their goals or their funding sources.

In a tax document, Futuro says its purpose is to “advance high-quality charter school programs and broad access thereto.” No donors are listed on the report for its PAC, Families for Education and Opportunity, which spent $26,000 helping Shaikh.

Another arm of the group reported spending about $18,600, including money for canvassers in the District 8 race.

Shaikh’s campaign and Futuro’s political work are both run by the campaign consulting firm Düable, which says it has dedicated staff for each that do not coordinate.

7. A high-profile school board race

San Antonio ISD has two school board seats on the May 3 ballot, but an unusual race in District 1 has drawn big spending and candidate endorsements from congressmen, state lawmakers, unions and a business PAC.

District 1 Trustee Sarah Sorensen is regarded as a rising star among progressive circles, and faces a challenge from a well-known former Democratic state lawmaker, Mike Villarreal.

The latest fundraising reports indicate Sorensen raised about $19,000 and spent about $15,000. Of that, about $13,500 came from the San Antonio Alliance, the district’s teacher and staff union.

Villarreal reported raising about $13,000 and spending about $18,000 in the same span. 

In total this year, Villarreal raised about $33,000 for the race, to Sorensen’s $25,000.

Bonus: Alamo Colleges Bond

A group called I Support Alamo Colleges has spent about $340,000 this year promoting the nearly $1 billion Alamo Colleges District bond.

The bond is backed by local business groups that say the county’s community college system is critical for workforce development. Among the biggest donors to the PAC were architects, developers and companies that would compete for the projects it pays for.

San Antonio’s Marmon Mok Architecture and Alamo Architects contributed $5,000 each. Dallas-based Structure Tone Southwest contributed $15,000, as did Joeris General Contractors, which has offices across Texas.

Clarification: This story has been updated with additional information about 501c4 social welfare groups’ spending rules.