Incumbents best choice in these districts
When running against an incumbent, a challenger must make a compelling case to voters that a change in office is warranted. Voters need to believe they will benefit by exchanging experience and institutional knowledge for a new vision or direction. In City Council Districts 8, 7, 6 and 4, the challengers fail to clear this bar. We recommend
Manny Pelaez, Ana Sandoval, Melissa Cabello Havrda Adriana Rocha Garcia
and for another term. The District 8 recommendation was the most difficult of this group. There is much to like about challenger Rob Rodriguez, a businessman who has been active throughout the community. Rodriguez served on the city of San Antonio’s Planning Commission for four years and has been an advocate for small businesses. We think he would make a fine councilman, but we paused at his opposition to Proposition A, which would allow for bond dollars to be spent on affordable housing, and resistance to so-called equity budgeting, instead focusing on “restoring” District 8’s “fair share.” This type of outlook — District 8 spans the wealthier Northwest Side — has helped fuel the city’s economic segregation. Broader vision is required.
District 8 incumbent a labor attorney, has brought much-needed legal expertise to the council. He would likely agree he has a tendency to shoot from the lip, which can create headwinds (think of Chick-fil-a several years ago) and unnecessary distractions. He would do well to play nicer and be less reactive.
But the upside to this is that Pelaez has been responsive to his constituents and is passionate about city issues, big and small; and while he is often in alignment with Mayor Ron Nirenberg, he is no rubber stamp, sometimes disagreeing or expressing policy concerns. He supports Proposition A but opposes Proposition B, citing the need to preserve workforce protections and address disciplinary concerns for officers in the police contract. District 8 voters have backed Pelaez the past four years, and we see no reason for a change midstream, especially as we come out of the pandemic.
In District 7, we once again recommend
Like Pelaez, Sandoval is seeking a third term, and this is a no-brainer for District 7 voters. Sandoval has bachelor’s and master’s engineering degrees from MIT and Stanford, and a master’s in public health from Harvard. She is an expert on environmental issues, air quality and public health. Her opponent, Patricia Varela, declined our interview request. We would have asked Varela about her Dec. 31 Facebook post to “take back” the Texas Capitol over the presidential election, complete with rhetoric about overthrowing the government. Sandoval supported propositions this fall to invest sales tax dollars in workforce development, VIA Metropolitan Transit and Pre-k 4 SA. She also has advocated for completing the city’s Howard W. Peak Greenway Trails system.
Given her expertise, we expect Sandoval to be a crucial community voice on power sources for CPS Energy, as the utility weighs closing the Spruce power plants early and considers how to move forward from February’s devastating freeze.
In District 6 on the far West Side, we recommend
for a second term. Havrda was relatively quiet in her first term, but she was also responsive, having grown up in the district. She recently spoke out about the handling of a police report involving Fire Chief Charles Hood’s son, saying, “My concern is the perception of a government that isn’t open to the people, the people that I represent. It’s detrimental to all of us — it’s detrimental to me, to the people that I represent, and it’s detrimental to the city.”
Havrda has a handful of challengers, but none of the ones we spoke with offered a compelling reason to make a change. Her opponents also can’t match her background and expertise. She practices disability law, holding a law degree and an MBA from St. Mary’s University, and she worked for former Mayor Ed Garza and has served on many community boards.
In District 4, we recommend a lifelong resident of this Southwest Side district and professor in marketing at Our Lady of the Lake University. Garcia had an excellent first term, speaking passionately and elegantly about the devastating impact of COVID-19 on her district and in her family. She also was a strong advocate for the city’s burgeoning workforce development program, and we think her political future is bright.
Havrda Pelaez, Garcia, Sandoval.