This story has been updated.
Friday marked the deadline for potential candidates to apply for a place on the May municipal election ballot. By Thursday, more than 70 people had thrown their hats into the ring to win mayoral and City Council seats.
Of the 11 seats on Council – including the mayor – nine have incumbents running for re-election. Find the full list of candidates at the bottom of this article.
The mayoral race was the most crowded with 12 candidates on the ticket as of Friday morning. Current Mayor Ron Nirenberg filed for re-election along with challenger Greg Brockhouse, the former District 6 councilman who forced Nirenberg into a runoff in the 2019 municipal election. This time, Nirenberg secured Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff’s endorsement at the start of the campaign; the two have worked closely together in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Wolff did not endorse Nirenberg in 2019.
Unsurprisingly, Districts 3 and 5 drew many council hopefuls as incumbent Councilwomen Rebecca Viagran (D3) and Shirley Gonzales (D5) are finishing their fourth and final terms on Council. District 2 has shaped up to be similarly crowded, though current Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan is only in her first term. The Eastside district has seen constant turnover in representation. Former Mayor Ivy Taylor was the last person to represent District 2 for more than one term. She was first elected in 2009 and re-elected in 2011 and 2013 but took over for former Mayor Julián Castro when he left office to serve as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
San Antonio voters may notice other familiar names among the list of candidates, including District 10 candidate Ezra Johnson, who ran against Councilman Clayton Perry in 2017 and forced a runoff. Perry ultimately won that race, securing the District 10 seat for his first term. Perry won his bid for re-election in 2019 with 64 percent of the vote, though Johnson did not challenge him that year. Johnson resigned from the VIA Metropolitan board of trustees ahead of filing for candidacy; fellow board member Kristi Villanueva did the same when she filed to run in District 2.
With the coronavirus pandemic still impacting San Antonio, the spring campaign scene will look different than past municipal elections. Nevertheless, the Republican Party of Bexar County from beginning candidate meet-and-greets. The county party scheduled a Tuesday candidate forum for attendees to get to know participating mayoral candidates.
City Council officially called the May election on Thursday. Election day is May 1.
City Council candidates listed below in order of filing. * Denotes incumbent.
Mayoral candidates
- Ray Basaldua
- Frank Adam Muniz
- Tim Atwood
- Denise Gutierrez-Homer
- Ron Nirenberg *
- Gary Allen
- J. L Miller
- Michael “Commander” Idrogo
- Greg Brockhouse
- Antonio “Tony” Diaz
- Dan Martinez
- Justin Macaluso
- Joshua James Galvan
- John M. Velasquez
District 1 candidates
- Raymond Zavala
- Matthew J. Gauna
- Lauro A. Bustamante
- Roberto C. Trevino *
- Cyndi Dominguez
- Mario Bravo
District 2 candidates
- Dori Brown
- Kristi Villanueva
- Jalen McKee-Rodriguez
- Pharaoh Clark
- Walter Perry, Sr.
- Nneka “Miss Neka” Cleaver
- Andrew Fernandez Vicencio
- Carl Booker
- Jada Andrews-Sullivan *
- Norris Tyrone Darden
- Chris Dawkins
- Michael John Good
District 3 candidates
- Phyllis Viagran
- Angela Cardona
- Marcello Martinez
- Stephen “Steve” Valdez
- Rafael C. Vela
- Ted Gonzalez
- Tomas Uresti
- Mark Arthur Vargas, Jr.
- Diana Flores Uriegas
- Katherine Herrera Garza
- Rodolfo “Rudy” Lopez
- Walter Murray
District 4 candidates
- Dr. Adriana Rocha Garcia *
- Raymond Guzman
- David Tristan
- Curtis Mueller
District 5 candidates
- Irma G. Barron
- Marie Crabb
- Ricardo Moreno
- Anthony Gres
- Jason Mata
- Teri Castillo
- David Yañez
- Norberto “Geremy” Landin
- Ray Garza
- Jesse J. Alaniz
- Rudy Lopez
District 6 candidates
- Melissa Cabello Havrda *
- Robert Walker
- Irina Rudolph
- Chris Baecker
- Robert Hernandez
District 7 candidates
- Ana E. Sandoval *
- Patricia Ann Varela
District 8 candidates
- Cesario Garcia
- Manny Pelaez *
- Rob Rodriguez
- Suzanne McCarty
- Tammy K. Orta
District 9 candidates
- John Courage *
- Antonio Salinas
- Erika Moe
- Cory Dennington
- Patrick Von Dohlen
District 10 candidates
- Alexander Svehla
- Emily Norwood
- Clayton Perry *
- Gabrien Gregory
- Ezra Johnson
