Former U.S. Air Force Under Secretary Gina Ortiz Jones, who has long been rumored as a potential 2025 mayoral contender, launched a campaign website this week.
“As our state and our country face an uncertain future, we need a mayor with a fresh perspective who will put San Antonians first,” Jones said in a statement Thursday. ” …I am running for mayor because I believe that we all deserve economic opportunity, affordable housing, and a safe city to call home.”
Jones served as Under Secretary of the U.S. Air Force under the Biden Administration, and twice ran for Congress as a Democrat in Texas 23rd Congressional District — back when the district was considered a top battleground on the House map.
Most recently, she’s been focused on a political action committee that sought to unseat three Texas Supreme Court justices who helped pave the way for the state’s abortion restrictions.
That effort garnered some attention from national Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), but all three Republican judges were reelected in November.
Jones would be joining a field of more than a dozen potential candidates, including three sitting council members.
Candidates can’t formally file to run in the May 3 municipal election until Jan. 16, but many have filed treasurer’s reports to allow them to start raising money.
Jones grew up in San Antonio, graduated from John Jay High School and went on to earn a master’s degree in military arts and sciences at the School of Advanced Military Studies of the United States Army Command and General Staff College.
