Incumbent San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg narrowly finished first in voting Saturday evening in his mayoral re-election bid against eight challengers, including District 6 Councilman Greg Brockhouse.
However, neither he nor Brockhouse exceeded the 50-percent threshold and now will head to a runoff election June 8, along with the top two vote-getters in three San Antonio City Council races.
Nirenberg and Brockhouse spent the weeks leading up to Saturday's election facing off in several debates and laying out the differences between them.
Nirenberg is running on his record after one term as the city's mayor, emphasizing his work on transportation, affordable housing and long-term planning. He also criticized Brockhouse as being too close to the public safety unions and unable to drive policy as a council member.
Nirenberg's campaign also cites two incidents of domestic violence allegations as a sign that Brockhouse is not a good fit to lead the city.
Brockhouse came into the campaign with strong support from the city's firefighters union and had spent time on council pushing for the city to renew negotiations with the union over its contract.
His campaign seized on a recent council vote to deny an airport restaurant contract to Chick-fil-A as an indictment on Nirenberg, saying the mayor and council members who voted to block Chick-fil-A were denying the fast-food chain's owners' rights to religious freedom.
Nirenberg said he voted against Chick-fil-A for economic reasons, saying the chain is not open on Sundays, a prime travel day in the airport.
Henry Cisneros, former San Antonio mayor and U.S. secretary of housing and urban development, stopped by the KENS 5 Studio on Saturday night to analyze the race and the factors that shaped Saturday's outcome.
More stories on the San Antonio mayoral election:
- Nirenberg, Brockhouse square off in final debate
- San Antonio Council vote to reconsider Chick-fil-A contract fails
- San Antonio's mayoral candidates hold debates a week before early voting
- Mayoral candidates square off on senior issues
- Nirenberg, Brockhouse face off in their first mayoral debate together
- SA mayor to speak to Congress on transportation needs
- Councilman Greg Brockhouse announces mayoral campaign
City Council Elections
In the San Antonio City Council races, seven incumbents were on the ballot, while three districts had an open field of challengers:
- The District 2 seat, currently held by Councilman Art Hall, has no incumbent in the race because Hall pledged not to run when he took the seat on an interim basis following the departure of William “Cruz” Shaw, who resigned in December 2018 to become a Bexar County associate judge.
- The District 4 seat is currently held by Rey Saldaña, who is term-limited after serving four consecutive terms since his first election in 2011.
- The District 6 seat is currently held by Brockhouse, who is running for mayor.
Race Updates
Incumbents in control: Roberto Trevino (D1), Rebecca Viagran (D3), Shirley Gonzales (D5), Ana Sandoval (D7), Manny Pelaez (D8), John Courage (D9) and Clayton Perry (D10) all rode their incumbency to victories in their council races, with Courage at 53 percent being the incumbent closest to needing a runoff election before holding on for victory.
District 2: Keith Toney, a former council member, led with just 28 percent in a crowded field of nine candidates. Jada L. Andrews-Sullivan finished second for a runoff with Toney.
District 4: Adriana Rocha Garcia, who received the endorsement of term-limited Councilman Rey Saldana, will face Johnny Arredondo in a runoff.
District 6: Melissa Cabello Havrda had 47 percent and Andy Greene trailed with 35 percent as the top two vote-getters in the district currently represented by Greg Brockhouse.