2017 San Antonio mayoral election
On May 6, 2017, the city of San Antonio, Texas held an election to choose the next mayor of San Antonio. As no candidate secured a majority of the vote (50% of all votes cast +1), a runoff was held on June 10, 2017 with Councilman Ron Nirenberg defeating incumbent mayor Ivy Taylor.
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 11.32% (first round) 13.16% (runoff) | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Texas |
|---|
 |
 Government |
Simultaneous elections to the city council as well as various area bond programs were held on the same date.
Background
Julian Castro, who was elected mayor in the 2009 San Antonio mayoral election, resigned in 2014 to become the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Ivy Taylor was selected by the San Antonio City Council as Castro's successor. Taylor successfully ran for re-election as mayor in the 2015 San Antonio mayoral election.
On November 13, 2016, Taylor officially announced her candidacy for a second full term as mayor.[1][2] City Councilman Ron Nirenberg became the first challenger to Taylor, announcing his candidacy on December 10, 2016.[3] The chairman of the Bexar County Democratic Party, Manuel Medina, announced his candidacy on January 7, 2017.[4] District 4 City Councilman Rey Saldaña, a potential candidate, opted to run for a fourth term to the city council rather than mayor.[5]
Candidates
A total of 14 citizens submitted applications to be on the ballot for mayor. Taylor, Medina, and Nirenberg were identified as the primary three candidates in the election.[6]
Declared
- Antonio "Tony" Diaz[7]
- Felicio Hernandez Flores II[7]
- Michael "Commander" Idrogo[7]
- Stephen Lucke[7]
- Napoleon Madrid[7]
- Will McLeod[7]
- Manuel Medina, former chairman of the Bexar County Democratic Party[7]
- Ron Nirenberg, District 8 City Councilman[7]
- Julie Iris "Mama Bexar" Oldham[7]
- Gerard Xavier Ponce[7]
- Keven Roles[7]
- Rhett Smith[7]
- Ivy Taylor, incumbent mayor of San Antonio and former City Councilwoman[7]
- John Martin Velasquez[7]
Endorsements
italicized individuals and organizations are post-regular election endorsements
- Maria Berriozábal, former City Councilwoman, District 1[11]
- Julian Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Mayor of San Antonio[11]
- Rosie Castro, mother of former Mayor Julian Castro and Congressman Joaquin Castro[11]
- Linda Chavez-Thompson, former executive vice president of the AFL-CIO and 2010 Democratic nominee for Texas Lieutenant Governor[11]
- Bonnie Connor, former City Councilwoman, District 8[12]
- Phil Hardberger, former Mayor of San Antonio[13]
- Sierra Club of Texas[14]
- Tommy Adkisson, former Bexar County Commissioner and 2015 mayoral candidate[15]
- Ernesto Ancira, President of local car company Ancira Enterprises and treasurer of Taylor's campaign[15]
- Hope Andrade, former Texas Secretary of State[15]
- Trish DeBerry, President of DeBerry Group and 2009 mayoral candidate[15]
- Brian Dillard, President of the Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Association[15]
- Mike Gallagher, former City Councilman, District 10[15]
- Joe Krier, former City Councilman, District 9[15]
- Lyle Larson, Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives[16]
- Cris Medina, former City Councilman, District 7[15]
- San Antonio Express-News[17]
- Ray Lopez, former City Councilman, District 6[16]
- Leticia Van de Putte, former State Senator and 2015 mayoral candidate[18]
- Rebecca Viagran, current City Councilwoman, District 3[15]
- Kevin Wolff, Bexar County Commissioner, Precinct 3[16]
- Nelson Wolff, Bexar County Judge and former Mayor of San Antonio[19]
Results
First round
On May 6, 2017, the election for Mayor was held. None of the leading candidates received more than 50% of the vote and as a result, a runoff election was scheduled for Saturday, June 10, 2017 between the top two vote-getters.[21]
| Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✓ | Ivy Taylor | 41,794 | 42.01% | |
| ✓ | Ron Nirenberg | 36,890 | 37.08% | |
| Manuel Medina | 15,049 | 15.13% | ||
| Keven Roles | 1,557 | 1.57% | ||
| Antonio "Tony" Diaz | 966 | 0.97% | ||
| Will McLeod | 545 | 0.55% | ||
| Felicio Hernandez Flores II | 429 | 0.43% | ||
| John Martin Velasquez | 383 | 0.39% | ||
| Michael "Commander" Idrogo | 366 | 0.37% | ||
| Gerard Xavier Ponce | 366 | 0.37% | ||
| Rhett Smith | 321 | 0.32% | ||
| Stephen Lucke | 315 | 0.32% | ||
| Julie Iris "Mama Bexar" Oldham | 270 | 0.27% | ||
| Napoleon Madrid | 225 | 0.23% | ||
| Turnout | 99,467 | 11.32% | ||
* Vote percentage includes all of Bexar County with a total of 16,745 either voting in another municipal election or casting no ballot for San Antonio mayor.
Runoff
The runoff election between the top two candidates was held on Saturday, June 10, 2017. 230 fewer people voted in the runoff than in the first round. This was the third consecutive runoff election in which the runner-up in the first round went on to win in the runoff. This was also the first election in twenty years that the incumbent mayor of San Antonio sought re-election and lost, when Bill Thornton sought re-election in 1997 but failed to qualify for the runoff (Thornton was ultimately succeeded by Howard Peak).[22]
| Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✓ | Ron Nirenberg | 54,020 | 54.6 | |
| Ivy Taylor | 44,922 | 45.4 | ||
| Turnout | 98,942 | 13.16% | ||
References
- "Mayor Taylor Announces Re-election Bid - KTSA". KTSA. November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
- Baugh, Josh (November 13, 2016). "Mayor announces re-election campaign". San Antonio Express-News. Hearst. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
- Arias, Pilar (December 10, 2016). "SA Councilman Ron Nirenberg announces mayoral bid". KSAT-TV. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
- "New candidate enters San Antonio mayoral race". KSAT-TV. January 7, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
- Dimmick, Iris (December 24, 2016). "Saldaña Defers Mayoral Ambitions". The Rivard Report. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- Dimmick, Iris (February 8, 2017). "Mayoral Candidates Sharpen Positions at Town Hall". The Rivard Report. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- "City of San Antonio Mayoral Candidates" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
- Ortiz, Edmond (January 8, 2017). "Manuel Medina Joins Mayoral Race". The Rivard Report. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- "Bexar County Democratic Party". Facebook. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- Baugh, Josh (March 21, 2017). "Medina gets fire endorsement in mayor's race as Taylor poll leaks". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- "Ron Nirenberg". Facebook. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- Garcia, Camille (December 10, 2016). "Nirenberg: 'Build The City You Deserve'". The Rivard Report. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- "Hardberger Endorses Nirenberg for Mayor". WOAI. May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- Sierra Club Political Committee of Texas (2017). "2017 Candidates". TurnTexasGreen.org. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
- "Mayor Taylor launches re-election campaign". Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- "Key Conservatives Endorse Taylor in Mayor's Race". WOAI. June 5, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
- Express-News Editorial Board (April 24, 2017). "Taylor is best choice for mayor". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- "Candidates to Meet at Feb. 7 San Antonio Mayoral Town Hall Debate". The Rivard Report. February 1, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- Guenther, Rocío (December 7, 2016). "Wolff Endorses Taylor in Mayor's Race". The Rivard Report. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- Dimmick, Iris (March 22, 2017). "Conflicting Mayoral Polls: A One-Round Race or a Runoff?". The Rivard Report. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- "May 6 2017 Media Report". www.bexar.org. May 18, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
- "June 10 2017 Media Report". www.bexar.org. June 22, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2019.