SAN ANTONIO — There will be at least two new faces on San Antonio City Council this summer after Saturday's elections yielded apparent victories for seven incumbents and one newcomer in District 10. Another incumbent appeared to be headed to a runoff in District 1, and two more candidates qualified for a runoff for the open seat in District 7.
The fight for District 1
Incumbent Councilman Mario Bravo finished second in his bid for reelection and now will go to a runoff against Sukh Kaur, who got the most votes in Saturday's District 1 election. Jeremy Roberts was in third place.
Bravo continues to hope he can secure a second term despite having been briefly suspended from council assignments last fall. His other challengers were Roberto Rios Ortega, Ernest Salinas, Lauro Bustamante and William T. Lamar-Boone.
Bravo was disciplined by his council colleagues for berating Ana Sandoval, the District 7 representative with whom he had been in a relationship. Bravo decided to run for another term, but Sandoval resigned her seat earlier this year after holding it since 2017.
District 1 covers downtown and much of the north side between I-10 and Highway 281, stretching up to Loop 410.
The fight for District 7
The District 7 race also will go to a runoff election. Marina Alderete Gavito was the leading vote-getter, while Dan Rossiter held onto second over Sandragrace Martinez, who finished third.
They were among five people vying for the District 7 seat, one of two City Council races without an incumbent this year after Sandoval resigned the seat.
The other candidates were Jacob B. Chapa and Andrew "AJ" Luck.
District 7 covers a section of the west side stretching from Zarzamora to Loop 1604, including the Woodlawn Lake and Jefferson neighborhoods, along with a portion of the Medical Center.
The fight for District 10
Newcomer Marc Whyte emerged victorious in the District 10 race Saturday night.
The seat is being vacated by Clayton Perry following his DWI arrest. Seven people were in the running to replace him.
Whyte led an unsuccessful campaign for the Texas House of Representatives in 2018.
The other candidates were Madison Gutierrez, Robert Flores, Margaret Sherwood, Rick Otley, Bryan R. Martin and Joel Solis. District 10 covers the far northeast side, mostly north of Loop 410 stretching towards Loop 1604.
Other City Council races
District 2
Jalen McKee-Rodriguez won the District 2 race Saturday night.
He is a progressive on the council and the first openly gay Black man to be elected to any office in Texas. He was able to secure a second term despite representing a district that historically has not been kind to incumbents; 2015 was the last time a District 2 representative won reelection, when Alan E. Warrick II ran for a full term after taking over the season in December of 2014.
The candidates who unsuccessfully challenged McKee-Rodriguez are Rose Requenez Hill, Edward Earl Giles, Patrick Jones, Carla Walker, Denise McVea, James M. Guild, Michael John Good, Wendell Carson and Denise Gutierrez.
District 2 covers east San Antonio between Rigsby and Austin Highway.
District 3
Phyllis Viagran held on and avoided a runoff election to retain her District 3 seat. Second belonged to Erin Gallegos Reid with less than half of Viagran's total.
Other challengers in the race were Jayden Muñoz and Larry La Rose. District 3 covers the south side between Commercial Avenue and Rigsby.
District 4
Adriana Rocha Garcia faced a sole challenger – Gregoria De La Paz – in her reelection bid.
Rocha Garcia received about three-quarters of all votes in the one-on-one race, easily dispatching De La Paz. District 4 covers the south side between West Military, Commercial and FM 1957/Potranco Road, stretching past Loop 410.
District 5
Teri Castillo cruised to victory on Saturday night over challengers Rudy Lopez and Arturo Espinosa in her bid for a second City Council term.
District 5 covers Southtown and a portion of the west side between Culebra Road and Hot Wells.
District 6
Melissa Cabello Havrda held on to a sizeable vote advantage throughout the night, eventually winning 54% to avoid a runoff in her District 6 reelection campaign over Irina Rudolph and Chris Baecker. She's set to be sworn in for a third City Council term.
District 6 covers a large portion of the west side between Callaghan and Loop 1604.
District 8
Just two City Council races feature a pair of contenders, and one of them was here in District 8. Incumbent Manny Pelaez soundly defeated Cesario Garcia to win a fourth and final council term.
District 8 covers the far northwest side past Wurzbach.
District 9
John Courage faced three challengers in his bid for a fourth City Council term, holding them all off with 62% of the vote for a strong victory. Courage finished with more than double the vote output of Jarrett Lipman, who finished second. The other challengers were David Allan Lara and Dominique Lui.
District 9 covers the far north side between Jones Maltsberger and Northwest Military.
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