A former teacher and community organizer, Castillo was elected to City Council in 2021. She sits on City Council’s Planning and Community Development Committee; Community Health, Environment and Culture Committee; Transportation and Mobility Committee; and the Economic and Workforce Development Committee.
Hear from the candidate
The following questions were asked of all City Council candidates.
Please tell voters about yourself.
Teri Castillo is a lifelong and generational resident of District 5. Castillo is a trained urban historian with a master’s degree in history and an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where Castillo received training to teach 7th-12th grade United States history, government and economics. Castillo worked for the San Antonio Independent School District for six years prior to being elected as councilwoman. At the core of Castillo’s work is her values and vision as a community organizer, particularly in housing and health care, where she has worked alongside the community for Medicaid expansion as well as the preservation and production of affordable housing. As councilwoman, Castillo has secured historic infrastructure investment to the residents of District 5 moving our community forward together.
Do you have any previous experience in government or participation on local boards, commissions or neighborhood associations? Have you run for elected office before?
Castillo is the sitting council member with a wealth of experience in community building and tackling District 5’s most pressing issues. Castillo successfully secured nearly double the amount of bond investment from the previous bond cycle and advocated for an increase in funding for basic infrastructure. Castillo was selected as a recipient for the 2023 Texas Housers Award in recognition for the work of the District 5 team tackling housing issues.
What three issues do you consider to be most pressing for your district and how would you address them?
Whether you live on the South Side or West Side of District 5, the need for basic infrastructure improvement is vast. That is why Castillo continues to prioritize and advocate for street, sidewalk and drainage improvements.
As the cost of rent and property taxes continues to rise, outpacing stagnant wages, we must increase wages to keep up with the cost of living. Further, we must preserve our existing affordable housing stock while moving with intention with our limited public dollars to produce permanently affordable housing via land banking community land trusts.
We must shift dollars into structural solutions to address public safety concerns by scaling up programs like Stand up SA, the SA Core Team and investing in San Antonio youth and community spaces and services.
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?
Yes.
How do you feel the city has done at balancing the needs of downtown and the neighborhoods, from bond projects to budget priorities?
There has been a substantial shift in ensuring we are addressing neighborhood needs, particularly in the 2022 bond with record investments in District 5, including neighborhood parks, neighborhood drainage projects and fire station improvements.
If elected, how do you plan to solicit input and feedback from residents in your district?
Our District 5 office will continue to conduct grassroots outreach by bringing the office to the people with our door-to-door outreach, open office hours, as well as our physical and digital newsletters.
