Ron Nirenberg’s eight year tenure as San Antonio’s mayor is coming to an end, but he is still looking to make an impact in the city.
“I don’t think I’m done with public service,” Nirenberg shared with Robert Rivard on the bigcitysmalltown podcast, although it’s unclear exactly what his next role will be.
“I’m not obsessed with being something as much as I am with doing things,” he said.
Nirenberg sat down with Rivard to look back on the last few years and lay out his hopes for the future of San Antonio. Nirenberg will hand off the reins to Gina Ortiz Jones, who defeated Rolando Pablos in the June 7 runoff election.
Concerning the heated and densely crowded election this year, Rivard asked if the outgoing mayor would like to see changes in how San Antonio elects its city officials. Nirenberg said he would like to see a 100-signature requirement for all candidates to be put on the ballot, as well as a change in when the election takes place.
“Well, I’ve long been an advocate for more participation, and I think more participation will come, naturally, if we move our elections to a November cycle,” he said.
Other points of conversation included the expansion of Pre-K 4 SA, the launch of the Ready to Work program, and the $1.2 billion municipal housing bond, initiatives started under Nirenberg’s administration that are key to the city’s future growth.
“We have now seen major progress on ensuring housing supply at every income level,” he said, with San Antonio becoming a “model city with respect to dealing with the housing crisis.” The city’s housing strategy has lead to over 10,000 homes being contructed or repaired.
Part of the strategy is having housing available to shelter the homeless, which Nirenberg said makes it easier to address the root causes of the city’s homelessness problem.
Another investment into San Antonio’s growth has been the Ready to Work program. Assessing the workforce development initiative, Nirenberg said that although the program started off slow, “the bird has taken flight.”
“Ready to work has been an individualized program. It takes time for each individual to navigate through. But we’re doing it,” he said. Roughly 12,000 people have enrolled in the program. Out of the 3,000 people that have already completed training, nearly 2,300 have secured employment.
Two things are certain in Nirenberg’s future. He will take a “weeklong sabbatical to come down from all of the adrenaline over the last 12 years,” before returning to Trinity University as a Professor of Practice.
Trinity is home to Nirenberg. That’s where he earned a bachelor’s degree in communication and managed the school’s jazz radio station, KRTU-FM. Through his role as professor, Nirenberg aims to give students the tools to turn ideas into actions; to be actors, not just activists.
“Well, I’m incredibly proud of San Antonio continuing to be a socially cohesive and compassionate city,” Nirenberg said. With support from the community, he looks forward to San Antonio’s bright future.
For the full conversation, click on the link below.
