Campaign finance reports covering the week leading up to the municipal election through May 31 show education consultant Sukh Kaur raised $60,000 compared to Councilman Mario Bravo‘s $51,000 in the same span.
Kaur took 34% of the vote in the May 6 election, forcing Bravo into a June 10 runoff. He’s seeking a second term representing District 1 on the City Council, and took 26% in the first round.
The June 10 runoff also will determine a replacement for Ana Sandoval in District 7, between former tech executive Marina Alderete Gavito and computer scientist Dan Rossiter.
Since the May 6 race, Kaur has picked up support from business leaders in the District 1 race.
Marketing executive Jeremy Roberts, who finished third in the May contest, endorsed her campaign, as did the San Antonio Equity Alliance, a political action committee aimed at economic development. A recent digital ad from Kaur shows business owners on the St. Mary’s Strip also calling for new leadership after ongoing construction delays.
Kaur spent about $46,000 between April 27 and May 31 and had about $35,000 on hand headed into the final week, according to her report.
Bravo spent $61,500 in the same span and had $13,200 on hand as of May 31, according to his campaign finance report.
A sharper tone
Since the May 6 election, the incumbent has been rallying support from neighborhood leaders, including former Dellview Area Neighborhood Association President Ernest Salinas, who finished fourth in the May 6 race. A recent mail ad features testimonials from residents across the district, one of which praises Bravo for bringing “neighborhood voices to the table.”
Bravo also has added professional campaign staff to his team, and unlike the first round of voting, he has gone on the attack against Kaur in the runoff.
A recent mail ad from Bravo said Kaur’s education consulting company “profits from opening charter schools, which drain money from San Antonio public schools.” He’s also receiving help from local teachers’ unions, which sent mail ads calling him a champion for public schools.
Kaur’s company, Edreimagined, helps open charter schools, often in partnership with traditional public school districts, to offer programs that aren’t typically available at public schools.
Kaur has struggled to avoid being linked to a Republican-led school voucher effort, which would allow students statewide to use tax dollars to pay for tuition at private schools.
“I’m very much anti-voucher,” Kaur said in an April interview. “… The private school system is not set up to serve all students.”
She has also faced criticism from progressives who point to a pro-charter school PAC that’s supporting her City Council campaign and has given to well-known conservatives like Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
“I’m assuming they’re supporting [my campaign] because I support their cause,” Kaur said of the group, Charter School NOW PAC.
“I believe that public school choice is really important for students to be able to access innovative school models, regardless of the type of public school that is,” she said. “I support when districts open their borders and partner with nonprofit organizations to run schools, which is a type of charter.”
For her part, Kaur was the only candidate to attack Bravo before the May 6 election, with ads calling him “unfit to lead” over his no-confidence vote from colleagues last year.
Meanwhile, another Bravo ad focuses on his work to reduce property taxes. Bravo has yet to vote in favor of a city budget due to various disagreements about the process the past two years. He’s recently reframed that record by calling himself the lone council member to vote against raising property taxes — though the tax rate is set by a separate vote. Bravo also voted against the city’s new lower tax rate because he wanted to cut the rate further to offset rising valuations.
District 7
In District 7, Gavito raised about $52,000 between April 27 and May 31 and spent about $47,000. She reported $31,000 on hand as of May 31, according to her most recent campaign finance report. She took roughly 43% of the vote in the May 6 election, finishing ahead of Rossiter, with 21%.
Rossiter raised just under $9,000 in between April 27 and May 31 and spent $9,400, according to his campaign finance report. He reported $3,500 on hand as of May 31, plus $20,000 in outstanding personal loans to the campaign.
Both candidates in the nonpartisan race consider themselves socially liberal but have received campaign funds from more conservative supporters.
Gavito, who has worked for Rackspace and USAA, raised significant funds from the business community and reported receiving help from the San Antonio Equity Alliance PAC.
Rossiter’s most recent report shows he collected $1,000 from Christopher Schuchardt, a conservative business owner who self-funded an unsuccessful campaign for mayor, and his wife. Rossiter also received $500 from Documation co-President Preston Woolfolk, who also contributed to Gavito’s campaign, and $100 from AT&T Chairman Emeritus Edward Whitacre Jr.
