Newborn PAC is looking out for small business
If you’re one of the 23 City Council candidates competing in Districts 3 and 5 in the May 1 election, you’ve probably received a curious piece of mail from an unfamiliar organization.
A group calling itself the San Antonio Equity Alliance has sent out a candidate questionnaire, with the promise that completing the form will put you in consideration for an endorsement from the group.
Candidates would be forgiven for asking, “What is the San Antonio Equity Alliance?” and “What are they hoping to accomplish?”
The Equity Alliance is a newborn political action committee that filed its paperwork with the Texas Ethics Commission on Feb. 19.
The questionnaire mailer is part of the group’s soft opening, a way to quietly introduce itself to the political scene.
That’s why the group is focusing its attention on Districts 3 and 5, two seats whose current occupants — Rebecca J. Viagran and Shirley Gonzales, respectively — are term-limited out. At least for now, the Equity Alliance isn’t taking on any council incumbents seeking re-election.
The organization is a collaboration between investment company executive John Agather, the former chair of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and local attorney Marcie Treviño Ripper, former chief of staff for Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.
They’re joined by political operative Kelton Morgan, former campaign manager for Mayor Ron Nirenberg.
The Equity Alliance’s primary objective is to seek out and help candidates who express support for the concerns of small businesses.
Agather was at Council Chambers on August 16, 2018, when council members approved a controversial ordinance mandating that employers provide paid sick leave to their employees.
Agather, then the chair-elect of the Hispanic Chamber, opposed the measure and said this to the council:
“We’re not opposed to paid sick leave, but a municipally mandated ordinance, kind of a one-size-fitsall, is not something our members feel is reflective of what we need in the business community.”
The council’s passage of both paid sick leave and the ambitious, aspirational 2019 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan left Agather and some of his chamber colleagues with the sense that smallbusiness owners’ voices weren’t being heard or considered.
That feeling only intensified over the past year, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of this city’s business activity.
“Big businesses have teams of governmental affairs people, they have lobbyists, they have a lot of help,” Agather said. “But small businesses, they’re in the hurricane of just trying to survive. It is the majority of businesses in San Antonio. Where do they go? Who are their lobbyists?”
Agather noticed that there were individuals voicing concerns about council actions, but no strong coordinated approach.
He started out reaching out to local entrepreneurs and found a “universal frustration with some of the actions taken at City Hall and people wanting to participate in the political discourse.”
That sparked the formation of the Equity Alliance.
Agather said the Equity Alliance wants to make sure the concerns of small businesses are heard and considered at City Hall. The group also wants to spur a deeper conversation on the issue of systemic poverty in San Antonio.
“This is not a Republican talking-point organization,” Agather said. “In fact, it’s most decidedly a nonpartisan organization.
“One area where I think we can help is with education. Down the line, I think you’ll see us playing more in that field as well.”
Until recently, Agather didn’t know Ripper at all. But he heard she was working on a project similar to what he envisioned, so they decided to team up for the Equity Alliance.
The Equity Alliance questionnaire defines the organization as a collective “intended to be a tool for responsible and inclusive economic development.”
Candidates are presented with four statements and asked in each case to indicate whether they agree or disagree with the premise.
The first statement concerns the value of tax credits and financial incentives for businesses. The second statement declares that city government should focus on basic services “and not dictate policy on state and federal issues.”
The last two statements focus on business regulations and whether the council should involve itself in the management of city departments and utilities.
Given that we’re only five weeks away from San Antonio’s city election, it’s unlikely that the Equity Alliance will have a serious impact during this campaign cycle.
“We’re a little bit late to be playing the 2021 race,” Agather said. “We’re trying to do something in the 2021 race, but this is much more about making sure that we start coordinating for 2023.”
The group will soon start raising money, to be used for polling and research, as well as to support endorsed candidates.
“I have no city or county contracts,” Agather said. “I have no desire to run for public office at all. I’m doing this because we really need to have this.”