Adrian Reyna is a leader in the San Antonio ISD teachers’ union and a member of VIA Metropolitan Transit’s board. He’s running in a four-way Democratic primary to replace retiring state Rep. Ray Lopez (D-San Antonio).
Hear from the candidate
1. Please tell voters about yourself.
My name is Adrian Reyna. I was born and raised in House District 125, living and growing up in the St. Mary’s and Leon Valley areas my entire life. I graduated from Northside Health Careers HS before earning a Bachelor of Arts in government and a Bachelor of Science in political communications from the University of Texas at Austin.
I recently earned a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Trinity University. While in Austin, I worked for a state senator as a legislative aide and helped her pass legislation, including laws to combat human trafficking. For the past 15 years, I have been a public school teacher in the SAISD and a union leader in the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel. I also serve as an executive board member for the San Antonio AFL-CIO Central Labor Council and as the labor representative on the VIA Board of Trustees.
2. Briefly describe your top policy priorities.
I have spent my entire career fighting for working people and will continue this fight as state representative. My top priority is to ensure fully funded, high-quality public schools are in every neighborhood without overburdening homeowners or renters through rising property taxes. I will fight to raise the basic allotment per student, increase funding for Special Education and other high-need populations, fund school districts based on enrollment, and raise wages for school employees so we can attract and retain the best educators and staff for our children and future.
Healthcare is a human right, and I will prioritize expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act so at least one million more Texans can access quality healthcare.
The State needs to focus on investing in our healthcare systems; more funding our Health and Human Services agencies, securing state funds for local municipalities to expand community health centers that provide culturally competent care, and strengthening Medicare and CHIP by closing coverage gaps and protecting Texans with pre-existing conditions.
Finally, I will prioritize the rising cost-of-living crisis facing working families in San Antonio by advancing policies like higher wages, affordable housing, childcare, free community college, and registered apprenticeship programs in our high schools.
3. What would you like to see the legislature do to make Texas cities better places to live? In what ways could state officials work better with local officials?
To make Texas cities better places to live, the Legislature must address the affordability and livability crisis growing across Texas’ cities and rural areas. As State Representative, I will work to reduce property tax pressure on homeowners and renters while investing in infrastructure that will protect families from extreme weather and rising costs. We need to invest in infrastructure that will improve flood control, drainage, and road safety and reliability. Better roads means better mobility, which leads to more access to jobs, education, healthcare, and time with family.
Texas cities will be better places to live when we all have access to fully funded, high-quality neighborhood public schools and affordable, high-quality healthcare and housing. Strong schools and accessible healthcare and housing are the foundation of opportunity. That means the Legislature must fully fund public education, expand access to healthcare by expanding Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP and investing in mental health care, and investing in a state-local affordable housing partnership.
State officials can work better with local officials by respecting local expertise, avoiding unfunded mandates, and partnering with cities, school districts, transit agencies, and counties to deliver policies that reflect the strengths, needs, and aspirations of each city.
4. Texas has taken major steps to reshape its public education system, including allowing taxpayer dollars to fund private school tuition. What do you believe needs to happen to monitor the success of Education Savings Accounts, and to ensure every student still receives a quality education?
Let me be clear, I oppose vouchers and ESAs. Every child in Texas has a right to and deserves access to free high quality education. The best way to ensure every child receives a high quality education is to fully fund our public school system and not starve them of resources while, at the same time, putting in place harmful regulations and policies that can complicate or diminish public school districts’ efforts to serve the roughly 5.5 million students in our public school classrooms. I do not believe public tax dollars should be going to private schools.
However, now that Texas has vouchers, in an effort to ensure all students receive a high quality education, I believe all private schools should operate under the same ethics, accountability, and transparency laws that public school districts must follow or risk action by TEA. All schools in Texas should be held to the highest standards to ensure all students are receiving quality education.
5. Reducing the burden of property taxes is expected to be a major focus of the next legislative session. Describe your ideas for balancing the needs of a growing state with state leaders’ desire to rein in that major revenue source?
I agree, we need to rein in the disproportionate tax burden that our property owners and renters face, especially our lower/middle income owners and renters. As state representative, I will work to innovate with new tax structures and revenue sources. I would work to cap property taxes as a share of income in order to provide bigger and more targeted relief to those that need it most; our low/middle income homeowners, seniors, and disabled Texans. We can pair this with renter credits to ensure renters are also included in future property tax relief as those increases often get passed on to them.
We should keep homeowner protections, but tighten the business property tax loopholes with stronger appraisal standards, transparency, and enforcement to reduce the unfair advantages for large commercial properties. We can also shift school funding away from local property taxes and ensure the state pays its fair share through taxing high-end luxury goods, certain financial transactions, and targeted excise taxes tied to negative public impacts (e.g. pollution). Lastly, we have an opportunity to reform the franchise tax to shift more of the load on to corporate profits rather than homeowners and renters.
Read more
Top races to watch in Bexar County in 2026
6 takeaways from 2025 San Antonio mayor candidates’ war chests
State Rep. Ray Lopez won’t seek reelection in Texas House District 125
