Campaign director, mayor part ways

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg has cut ties with his campaign director less than a week before early voting begins in the May 1 election, his campaign confirmed Tuesday.

The campaign parted ways with Ryan Garcia, a veteran of several local and state legislative races, on Monday, but the reasons for his departure weren’t immediately clear.

Gilberto Ocañas, Nirenberg’s campaign chairman and the mayor’s chief political adviser, declined to give specifics — deeming the matter a personnel issue. But Ocañas mentioned that Garcia is working on other campaigns that are on the May ballot.

“I have nothing bad to say about Ryan at all,” Ocañas said. “He accomplished the things that we wanted him to accomplish.”

Later, Ocañas said, “It was time for him to focus on something else, and I wish him the best of luck.”

Garcia did not return a call requesting comment.

Garcia, who grew up on the South Side, first entered Nirenberg’s circle in the last mayoral race when he advised the mayor during a runoff with then-councilman Greg Brockhouse, who is again challenging Nirenberg in this year’s election.

Nirenberg then tapped the 31-year-old operative to help him sell the mayor’s four-year, $154 million sales tax plan to provide job training and college degrees to out-of-work residents to voters at the November ballot box.

In this year’s race, Garcia rose to campaign director — a role likened to a chief operating officer.

Garcia previously managed successful campaigns for County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez, Sheriff Javier Salazar, state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer and District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval.