Ernesto Arrellano Jr. served as a South San ISD trustee and was previously on the SAWS board. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for Bexar County Commissioner in Precinct 1 in 2024.
Hear from the candidate
Please tell voters about yourself.
My name is Ernesto (Ernest) Arrellano, Jr. I am a proud veteran of the USAF. After my service, I attended Palo Alto College and earned an Accounting degree from UTSA. I grew up in District 4 and have lived here for over 40 years.
Both my wife and I, and our two boys are graduates of South San High School. I have over 40 years of combined military and business private sector leadership experience as well as over 10 years of leadership in governmental roles as board trustee for South San ISD and SAWS. My mission is to always give back to and make life better for my neighbors and our families.
List any previous experience in government or participation on local boards, commissions, or neighborhood associations.
My desire to serve my community began as a write-in candidate for South San ISD Board Trustee in 2012. Shortly after that experience, I was appointed as a trustee to the SAWS Board and served from 2013-2018. After my time at SAWS, I felt compelled to try and help my struggling school district and successfully ran for election as a South San ISD Trustee in 2020 and was re-elected in 2024.
Knowing at the time that past issues with the Board posed an elevated risk of inevitable takeover by the State, my Board puts its heads down to do the very difficult work over the last several years that set the foundation for student success. That foundation is just now beginning to be realized, and South San is finally on its way back to providing the education our children deserve. I am proud to have played a role in that turnaround.
In the city’s 2024-2025 budget survey, residents ranked homelessness, streets, housing and animal care services among their top concerns for the city to address. Which issues do you consider a top concern for District 4 and how would you work to address them in your first 100 days?
Being that the concerns of District 4 residents is my first priority, I would target the survey data for what D4 residents said. I would also put together town halls across the district to have an actual discussion to get REAL data on what our needs actually are and build a transparent plan to make it happen. I am their representative at city council. As such, the wants and needs of my community will always guide my strategic and tactical actions and decisions.
As for what I consider top concerns, it would be to ensure that as District 4 and the city grows, it has more than adequate professional police and fire capabilities to ensure our safety. Providing best in class pay, benefits, and equipment is essential to attract and keep the best of the best to protect us all. We MUST get back to where we take care of them so we can feel safe to go about our busy lives.
Once that is addressed, we can then begin to actively focus on tackling the other important safety issues listed.
In a crowded field of council candidates, what differentiates you from the others?
I am the only candidate with over 40 years of real leadership experience in the military, business, and public service (as both an appointed and elected board trustee). This has honed my ability to influence other leaders at the business, Federal, State, County, City, and School District levels to actually get work done for my neighbors in D4.
My experience includes making tough decisions on multi-million-dollar budgets to improve our children’s education at the school district level. It also includes doing the same with SAWS’ $1 billion dollar budget to ensure we have clean drinking water and effective sewage capabilities for generations to come.
The taxes we pay is not monopoly money. We need someone with demonstrated leadership experience to use this precious resource wisely. I am the only candidate with the demonstrated experience and work ethic to take D4 and our city to the next level.
If elected, how do you plan to solicit input and feedback from residents in your district?
As a true leader I know that I cannot effectively make decisions in a vacuum. Knowing this, my neighbors are my front-line stakeholders whose ideas will always come first. Setting up several avenues for my neighbors to give me real-time feedback is critical to me as a leader. It is not just about calling a number or sending staff to get that feedback.
For it to be meaningful, it MUST primarily come directly to me in the form of in person interaction. Yes, it is time consuming. But a real leader will always want to see and hear the concerns and wishes of those they represent. You cannot get that just from logged calls on 311 or from staff. To know and feel what you do, I must interact with you personally.
Read more about Ernesto Arrellano Jr.
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