To inform readers about the candidates seeking their votes on the May 1 ballot, the San Antonio Report asked all City Council and mayoral candidates to respond to a brief questionnaire. Only candidates who responded are listed below. Some responses were edited slightly for clarity, and we did not fact-check responses.
See more Q&As with candidates in the May election here.
Quick navigation: Adriana Rocha Garcia | Curtis Mueller | David Tristán | Raymond Guzman
Adriana Rocha Garcia
Age 41, District 4 City Council member and professor at Our Lady of the Lake University. Lifelong San Antonio resident.
List any previous experience in government or participation on local boards, commissions, or neighborhood associations.
Current City Council, District 4 representative; chair, Ethics Review Board City of San Antonio; board member, Communities in Schools; Archbishop’s Appeal Steering Committee; board member, Kitchen Campus (Johnny Hernandez Culinary Arts Foundation); past president and chapter advisory board member, Texas Exes; communications chair, Hispanic Women’s Network- SA Chapter; past president, Urban Management Assistants of South Texas.
What are the top priorities you would like to address as a council member?
Currently, getting vaccines out to District 4 residents, in particular those who are
homebound, is my top priority, along with finding creative ways and solutions to
get our community back to work. Also, I’d like to focus on investing into our local
business to bring back jobs so that our economy can be even stronger than it
was prior to the pandemic.
Do you support the proposition to change city charter language and expand the use of bond money beyond public works?
I am of the opinion that we should always look to improve any use of public funding,
including bonds.
Do you believe there is a need for policing reform in San Antonio?
I support collective bargaining, as it has yielded wonderful results for many minorities,
but I would like to see changes to disciplinary procedures for police officers to be more
transparent.
How do you see the concept of “equity” applying to a City Council member’s job?
District 4 had the most coronavirus cases yet has lagged behind in the number of people who have received the vaccines. As councilwoman, I continue to fight to put vaccine distribution centers in my district, and to provide better access since this is an area where there continues to be the most need. I see my job as not only advocating for my community, but delivering for them. As councilwoman I will continue to work so that District 4 gets more than just its fair share.
Curtis Mueller
Age 44, Salesforce administrator and nonprofit IT specialist. San Antonio resident since 1986.
List any previous experience in government or participation on local boards, commissions, or neighborhood associations.
I’m an auxiliary board member for Veterans For America. I was never interested in politics until the last election cycle.
What are the top priorities you would like to address as a council member?
Infrastructure, voting rights, community involvement, homelessness and houselessness, decriminalizing marijuana, and police reform.
Do you support the proposition to change city charter language and expand the use of bond money beyond public works?
I’m not familiar with this proposition.
Do you believe there is a need for policing reform in San Antonio?
Oh yes, definitely we need police reform and police accountability. If the citizens don’t trust the police then we don’t have an effective police force.
How do you see the concept of “equity” applying to a City Council member’s job?
City Council needs to do everything in its power to make life better for all citizens. I plan to focus on ways the city can support all citizens and small businesses.
David Tristán
Age 41, tax strategist and owner of Family 1st Insurance and Financial Services. San Antonio resident for 36 years.
List any previous experience in government or participation on local boards, commissions, or neighborhood associations.
Knights of Columbus, new member director; ACTS; CYO Board member and athletic director.
What are the top priorities you would like to address as a council member?
First priority would be to clean up the waste and trash in the district, as well as addressing the homeless camps. I would move to implement dumping fines again for the waste and trash as well as work with nonprofits to start assisting our homeless that want help to get them off the street.
Two, I would start working with SAPD to see how we can put more patrols in the high-crime area. Then establishing community outreach with the neighborhood and law enforcement and schools. Three, put in motion a plan for revitalizing our Lackland area that is suitable for military families to be proud of.
Do you support the proposition to change city charter language and expand the use of bond money beyond public works?
No
Do you believe there is a need for policing reform in San Antonio?
Yes, there needs to be reform. The best way to do that is through collective bargaining.
How do you see the concept of “equity” applying to a City Council member’s job?
How do you see the concept of “equity” applying to a City Council member’s job? The concept to equity as it pertains to city councils means, council seeks fairness in the way all people are treated. We must acknowledge and make adjustments to imbalances to better serve our city.
Raymond Guzman
Age 30, mathematician. San Antonio resident for 26 years.
List any previous experience in government or participation on local boards, commissions, or neighborhood associations.
No response
What are the top priorities you would like to address as a council member?
We have a long list of issues that we need to address. We need to address the increase of crime, address the increasing homelessness, improving infrastructure, lowering property taxes, bringing in more jobs, and push for government transparency and accountability.
Do you support the proposition to change city charter language and expand the use of bond money beyond public works?
We should be using the bonds for their intended purpose. Our city infrastructure needs a lot of work and we should not make it easier to take money out of these bonds.
Do you believe there is a need for policing reform in San Antonio?
We need the police. We should add more training and mental health checks for our police officers. There are things we can do to improve policing, but we should not demolish SAPD.
How do you see the concept of “equity” applying to a City Council member’s job?
We need to bring opportunities to the people who need them. We can not guarantee the same outcome for everyone, but we can work together to bring better opportunities to everyone.
