Allen, 67, is a retired public school educator and administrator. He was a candidate for mayor in 2021 and sought the Republican nomination in the 20th Congressional District in 2020.
Hear from the candidate
The following questions were asked of all mayoral candidates.
Please tell voters about yourself.
I received a master’s degree in administration and political science with cum laude honors from West Texas A&M University. I am a retired principal, teacher and coach of the public school system, having worked for 30 years, but I say I’m not retired, just refired. This experience helped train me in working in committees, dealing with a variety of people within and without the school setting to solve problems and create policies. I am a native Texan and have lived in the San Antonio area for 25 years. I am known for my artwork and have many pieces of my art put into print, as well as news stories in the newspaper, on television and in magazines that tell the story of my artwork. I am active physically, having coached and played tennis, and now I spend time playing pickleball in which I am a state champion, having won the gold medal for the state of Texas in the Senior Olympic Games in my age division. I have also directed and acted in over 40 theatrical productions. Being a well-rounded individual in spirit, mind and body is important to me.
Do you have any previous experience in government or participation on local boards, commissions or neighborhood associations? Have you run for elected office before?
I have run for Congress for the 20th Congressional District. I lost in a runoff in 2020. I ran for mayor of San Antonio in 2021 and came in fourth out of 14 candidates.
What three issues do you consider to be most pressing for San Antonio, and how would you address them?
The three most pressing issues for me concerning San Antonio are high property taxes, which hurt our citizens. Second, overgrowth of the population like what happened in Houston, which will put a strain on housing, the water and energy supply, the roads, schools, and public safety in protecting our citizens from crime. The third item would be using taxpayers’ money wisely by not wasting it on too many projects and projects that burden the citizens and endanger our rich and beautiful history of the Spanish heritage and culture. In other words, be frugal, using common sense, and get more citizen involvement to create a more transparent government.
Do you support the proposed city charter amendment, known as Proposition A or the Justice Charter, that would bar certain policing tactics, decriminalize abortion and low-level marijuana possession and create a city justice director to oversee criminal justice policy? Why or why not?
I do not support Prop A. It will cause most of our citizens to be less safe. Small business owners will be hit hard from theft and shoplifting. Restaurant owners will find that free-loaders come in and don’t pay for their food. The same type of problems that cities in California have will end up happening here. The prop is disguised as something good with no penalty on marijuana and a relief of police to not prosecute smaller crimes when in fact it will increase crime in the city of San Antonio. Simply put, it is bad for San Antonio.
Do you think San Antonio is still an affordable city? Why or why not? What’s the role of local government in keeping it affordable for working people?
The city of San Antonio is becoming less and less affordable. The reasons are wasteful spending and increased property taxes that are out of control.
What does the city government need to be doing that it’s not currently doing to prepare for San Antonio’s continuing growth?
Growth can be described in two ways — economic growth and population growth. Economic growth is good because it increases the standard of living for the average citizen. Population growth is another story. Building apartment complexes all over the city helps construction companies and makes land developers rich, but it entices people to move here, which causes problems. The economic growth is canceled by adding more people. This in turn puts pressure on the government to add more taxes to pay for more programs and build more schools, to name a few problems. How big do we want San Antonio to be — 3 million, 5 million, 10 million? Politicians that promote growth by promising more jobs are ignoring that fact that most businesses have job vacancies and have problems filling them. It is a case study of how a city can lose its identity by growing too fast. We need to be careful on growth and take care of the citizens we already have. Let us not destroy our beautiful city and its heritage by allowing greedy politicians and land developers to get rich. Let us be diligent and thoughtful on expansion. We will be better in the long run.
