Ron Nirenberg , 48, was San Antonio’s mayor from 2017 to 2025. He previously served on the City Council representing District 8. He’s currently a professor at Trinity University, where he received his undergraduate degree and managed the university’s radio station before entering politics.
Hear from the candidate
1. Please tell voters about yourself.
I am the son of immigrants, father to my incredible son Jonah, and the still-counting-his- blessings husband of Erika Prosper, who I met while we earned masters degrees at the University of Pennsylvania. I’m also a 30-year resident of San Antonio, the place I fell in love with unexpectedly while attending Trinity University for my B.A.
Three decades later, I’m back on campus as Calgaard Professor of Practice, teaching future leaders about how a modern metropolis functions.
In June, I termed out as your mayor, following two terms as District 8 city councilman. Drawn to public service while general manager of KRTU 91.7FM (itself a jazzy detour from a decade-long career as director of national civic programs for the Annenberg Public Policy Center), I’m proud of the work we accomplished together, and I remain unapologetically passionate about our future.
2. Briefly describe your top policy priorities, or the top issues motivating you to
run for office.
Protect public safety and deliver a fair, efficient, and effective justice system that keeps
dangerous criminals off the streets.
Create and implement a regional growth plan to improve infrastructure, protect natural resources and quality of life, improve resilience, and ensure we are ready for any future emergency.
Stimulate economic opportunity by promoting Bexar County globally, preparing our workforce, expanding health care access, and ensuring there is an adequate supply of quality, affordable housing.
Eliminate redundancies, reduce inefficiencies, and save taxpayer resources by working
collaboratively with all communities in Bexar County.
3. Bexar County is currently committed to helping three major downtown
redevelopment projects: The Spurs Sports and Entertainment District at
Hemisfair, the Missions’ Minor League Baseball stadium district in Northwest
downtown, and the expanded rodeo grounds on the East Side. What would
success look like in those projects? And what outcomes are critical to avoid?
How do you think the county is doing in terms of balancing investments in the
urban core with the needs of the county’s more rural residents?
These projects are part of a bold vision for the future that has been many years in the
making by the entire community. They have the potential to be transformative for quality of life and our economy. However, it will require proactive, transparent, and accountable leadership to see them through and ensure they fulfill their promises to our community.
As mayor, I worked hard ensure these opportunities aligned with our communities expectations and that they wouldn’t compromise critical investments in housing, workforce training, transit development, and basic services. We worked with the Spurs and Missions to ensure their contributions were significant and that they guaranteed the developments surrounding those venues.
We need a County Judge who will not wait to make tough decisions and who will view collaboration as an opportunity–not a nuisance—so that we can continue to accomplish big things. Success for these projects is the most welcoming and vibrant downtown in America, a revitalized east side that meets the needs and aspirations of the residents and businesses that call it home, and restored confidence in the city and county’s ability to execute major projects.
4. County leaders have struggled for several years now to come together on their
shared spending priorities, including removing projects that are unlikely to be completed from the county’s capital plan. With federal pandemic funding that’s buoyed past budgets drying up, how do you think the five-member court should prepare for the fiscal cliff Bexar County is expected to hit in 2028?
The county is racing toward a fiscal cliff, while on-going services that the community has counted on are at risk because they have been funded by one-time federal emergency funds, a practice San Antonio avoided while I was mayor. In addition, county staff has warned of a significant budget deficit by next fiscal year.
The lack of a plan to balance the budget in future years – while retaining essential services and continuing to make necessary investments to accommodate growth – is a significant concern. I am committed to weekly, public budget work sessions. The next county judge should immediately convene with commissioners to work on an emergency fiscal plan, hearing input from the public and stress-testing revenue scenarios for the budget over the next five years. We should develop plans that protect core services of the county while also collaborating with area nonprofits to support services for our most vulnerable residents.
We will also begin working collaboratively with the City of San Antonio and other
municipalities to identify and eliminate duplication of services, while aligning functions
that properly coordinated, saving taxpayer resources for more effective use. We can do more without spending more.
5. Bexar County is the only local taxing entity with a road and flood control line
item on its portion of the tax bill. After one of the most deadly flood years in
almost three decades, what do you think the county should be doing to address
flood safety?
Bexar County residents deserve proactive planning, but flood prevention has failed to
keep pace with the region’s rapid growth and development. That needs to change, and
so does our method of flood control. Rather than slowing and sinking floodwater into the ground, a proliferation of concrete culverts upstream has accelerated the downstream disasters. Where feasible, we should use (and incentivize for private development) proven methods of natural stormwater management that prevent downstream flooding, while increasing investment—now, not later—in flood warning technology. Preparation begins by understanding threats, anticipating challenges, and knowing how we will communicate during an emergency. I will ensure a continuously updated Community
Risk Assessment, regularly convene local officials with community leaders and Emergency Operations Center personnel for tabletop exercises, and work with cities to improve our resilience and infrastructure. I will also work with my colleagues on the
commissioners court on the consideration of a bond program to address some of those critical needs.
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