The decision for mayor is upon us.

I'm Henry Cisneros.

San Antonio is ready to elect a new mayor, the first ever to serve a four year term and lead the city through historic growth, as well as challenging economic and political times.

On this show, we will spend some time with each of the two candidates in the runoffs.

Gina Ortiz Jones and Rolando Pablos.

This is not an exercise in clever gotcha questions.

I'll ask the questions that you would ask to pursue the answers you need to inform your vote.

I will ask essentially the same questions of both candidates so that you can compare.

Let's begin.

Gina, welcome to Color In.

We wanted to create a venue where you could be asked some questions that the people want to know, and give you the unimpeded opportunity to address them directly.

So let's begin with just some words about your background.

And what about that background?

Moved you to public service.

And, the thoughts that you might want to be the mayor of the seventh largest city in America.

Yeah, well.

And what an honor, to lead my hometown.

Truly, though, Mr. Secretary, when I think about, you know, my family's story, I'm always appreciative of my mom's courage that brought her to this country.

My mom graduated from the number one university in the Philippines.

But she came here as a domestic helper.

She wanted a chance at the American dream.

And she knew if I go to that country, even in that capacity, if I'm willing to work hard, the sky's the limit.

And so, she ingrained in my sister and I that we had to give back to this country that had given us so much.

And it's why I've been honored to serve our country in a number of ways.

Proud Air Force veteran, proud Iraq War veteran, and most recently served as the undersecretary of the Air Force.

But, the opportunities that allowed me to grow up healthy, get an education, serve our country started right here.

That title one public education that I received and Northside Independent School District, allowed me to earn a four year Air Force ROTC scholarship, get an education and serve our country.

I've had many formative leadership experiences, but I think one of the ones that was most formative for me, and I think, when I, when I think about how I would lead as, as mayor and certainly how I have led up until this point has been shaped by a critical experience.

One of my first, the very first things I had to do at Boston University.

When I showed up there with my scholarship, I had to sign a piece of paper that said I would not engage in homosexual behavior because Don't ask, Don't tell was the policy at the time.

And I knew what that meant for me.

Right.

My opportunity to get an education, serve our country, die for our country if need be.

All of that goes away.

Just because at the time, we didn't have enough leaders with the courage to say anybody ready and willing should be able to serve their country.

So fast forward when I was honored to serve as the 27th Undersecretary of the Air Force, I proudly knocked down barriers that I thought was preventing.

Many thought were preventing us from fully tapping into the talent in the force and ensuring that we were bringing in the best folks as well.

That experience of having to sign that piece of paper also just reminded me, that when you're in charge, when you are making decisions, always question, who am I not hearing from and why am I not hearing from them?

So not only do I have the leadership and management experience manage $173 billion budget led 600,000 folks.

But that firsthand experience, right?

The need to have that humility to make sure that we are making good decisions in the interest of moving our entire city forward, is what I look forward to bringing, to City Hall and making sure that we that I am a mayor for everybody in this community.

And let's talk about the business of being at City Hall as mayor.

You haven't served on the council.

Most of our mayors have.

So you're the when you sit down at the mayor's seat, that will be the first time you, are in City Hall, in a governing function.

We have a council manager form of government.

Talk a little bit about how you see yourself relating to the city manager system and also your fellow council members.

Yeah, because in our system of government, it takes six votes on that dias.

And you're going to have to be close to those people.

Talk about how you've thought about that.

Yeah.

Well, I think, you know, the relationship with the city manager is important.

I think what's also really important are the results, that are provided for our community.

And to your point, making sure that we are able to articulate to the community about why we are doing things, why we are investing in certain things in the way that we are and ultimately, how again, we understand that to be in the best interest of our community.

I've had an initial conversation with the city manager, for example, about our, you know, some of the upcoming fiscal challenges that we've got, and the need to make sure we're really looking at the data, making sure we are, well, resourcing those missions that we all understand to be no fail.

Right.

Keeping our communities safe, both fire police as well as EMS, but also minimizing any risk to our long, any risk to our most vulnerable communities.

I think a number one job, again, is to keep people safe.

I think it's also really important that we have a plan of how we want to move forward, certainly, again, given the budget issues.

But also we've got some wonderful opportunities.

On my own website, I've laid out the things I want to work on in the first 100 days, to ensure even if we had a different president, different governor, many of the things that we'd be dealing with are roughly kind of some of the same challenges and opportunities.

Too many kids not reading at level math skills, not at level too many folks struggling with housing costs, too many delayed construction projects.

So that plan really is based on the data that is currently available and how we need to start addressing those immediately.

And your colleagues on the council, you'll have at least four new council members and maybe more.

How do you see your relationship as a, as a, as a mayor who would not have served on the council relating to those some veterans who kind of know the system?

Yeah.

Well, look, I mean, we're all there, working to make sure that our city is moving forward in the right direction.

And we do that in partnership.

And that's why I'm really thankful to be endorsed, by many of the city, sitting city council members, as well as, one that is a councilman elect.

So I think I've already demonstrated my ability to build a coalition and to make sure that we are, again, accounting for the needs all throughout our community, as as you well know, unfortunately, two more too many parts of our community have been underinvested in over time.

And so we can't just take a kind of a peanut butter spread across things because that doesn't recognize and acknowledge the ways in which too many parts of our community haven't gotten any peanut butter for too long.

Right.

Know let me run through a series of basic city functions and some of the newer city functions, and just a couple of sentences.

We're going to try to get through as many as we can.

Policing and crime.

What issues do you see there?

What priorities do you have?

Well, I want to make sure, that we are that the people that, again, are keeping our us safe.

And when I think of first responders, I always think of police, fire and EMS.

For me, it's not just the police.

We have to think about those in the in the aggregate.

Right.

And make sure each of them are well resourced.

They have they've got the training that is sufficient.

These as we would call in the military.

I know your fellow veteran.

These are no fail missions, right.

When people pick up that phone, they want to make sure that they are, that somebody is going to respond in a timely way and appropriately.

I will say, when I'm thinking about our police, I want to make sure that our police are focused on the violent crimes that are threatening our community.

I'm very concerned, you know, with those that would want to use our local law enforcement as Ice agents, for example, I know the law says that, local law enforcement has to kind of work with, with on immigration functions.

But working with is much different than serving as.

And I'm very concerned that folks, we would we are less safe when people do not trust what is going to happen when they pick up the phone, whether it's if it's about domestic violence or wage theft or what have you.

So I think we should be very clear.

I am very clear that I want our local law enforcement to focus on violent crimes.

Another basic city function that people have at the top of their priority is traffic and traffic congestion streets.

But it's more than the streets.

It's bicycle paths, trails and mass transit and all of the issues related to mobility and thoughts.

Yeah.

Well, I think when I hear about this in particular, I think about our small businesses that are really struggling to keep the doors open.

And, you know, I've talked to I've had a small business roundtable with many folks, and, their main challenge is, you know, it's really hard to, to plan for the construction, and things it's not communicated well.

Projects are not on time.

So, again, it really impacts their ability to get folks in the door and to stay open.

So I think we have to do a much better job of communicating, you know, the status of projects so people can plan accordingly.

As well as.

Yes, when we think about the development of our community, addressing traffic is not only good, not only for people's kind of peace of mind, but also for the, the public hea emissions in our community.

So, I mean, the VA is an important partner as we think about connecting parts of our community as, as, frankly, as we are attracting, young people and folks that are coming from different areas that expect a certain level of quality and service and dependability, with public transit.

Slide.

Focus on that.

Education has not traditionally been thought of as a city function.

And yet in recent years, the mayors of recognized city councils have recognized if we don't have good quality education in all levels, we can't succeed in economic development and such.

So we have pre-K ASA, we have the centers for Education Partnership, we have Cafe College.

We have ready to work your minds set about the mayor's involvement and cooperation with the school districts and others.

Community college in education.

Yeah.

I mean, you're talking to a title one kid, Adams Hill Elementary School, PS middle school, John Jay High School, that title one public education allowed me to grow up healthy, get an education, serve our country.

And it is at the core, I think, of addressing some of these long term inequities, which is why first 100 days, I'd like to understand how many kids, how much talent are we leaving on the table as a result of not fully meeting the need for pre-K in our community?

And then and then let's understand the bill, right?

Because I would argue this is a bill we cannot afford to not pay in light of some of the.

Expansion of pre-K would make sense to you.

100%.

I would argue we wouldn't need so much ready to work, ready to work program if we had more pre-K. For I say, lots and lots of literature shows.

That's amazing program.

Absolutely.

And it's a city program.

That's right.

The schools well, the the professors there get their paycheck from the city.

That's right.

Well, and this is, this is a we cannot afford to not pay this bill in light of the inequities, Project Marvel, it's going to be on your on the watch of the next mayor to, address that, that, that, that project, its potential.

Where do you start on that?

I've been very clear that we still need a lot more information.

How much is it going to cost?

Who is going to pay, and how is the community going to benefit?

Much of the discussion up until this point has really been about how do we pay for it?

I would have flipped that.

I'll be honest with you, if I was the mayor, I would have started with, well, how can the community benefit?

And I think that's how we bring people along much, much faster.

Look, I think we can do two things at the same time.

I think we can fight hard for the Spurs.

And I think we can fight hard for a good deal for our city.

And how.

And, Frank, let's be bold.

Let's let's be bold.

If this is a generational investment, why can't we think about this generational investment in the way in which you can help address our generational inequities?

I've been very clear.

Let's is there a way in which our investment in this and the return we can think about fully funding pre-K in our community moving forward?

Why not?

Let me ask you the final question here.

What is the primary differentiator between you and Rolando Pablo?

So do you think the public should know on leadership style and on the substance of policy?

Yeah.

What is the if you were up against somebody who was saying, I don't know what I'm going to do, what's the differentiation?

I think there's two things.

One, I think the mayor must of always, without question, be 100% accountable to our city.

We have been asked this question.

San Antonio Express-News asked, you know, do you support the governor's attempt and the state legislators attempts to curb local control?

Rolando Pablo said, yes, he supports that.

When when asked that same question, among, two cops, Metro church leaders, he said, no, I oppose that.

Okay.

So there is some real concern about who he holds himself accountable to and when.

Again, when you look at a lot of the outside money coming in from these Greg Abbott aligned PACs, they're in support of Rolando.

Greg Abbott is not necessarily known for supporting independent thinkers, now, is he?

I think secondly, when you look at our record in public service, mine has always been about uplifting people, helping people serve to their full potential.

When you look at Rolando Pablo's record when he was secretary of state, for example, that based on his actions that would have allowed for voter intimidation, he was sued by the League of Women Voters, by the NAACP for being willing to share very personal of personal voting information.

And, oh, by the way, in Texas, the voter that that Trump voting commission really had an interest in voters with a Hispanic last name, a Texas district judge had to stop him from sharing that information.

But he was all too willing to do that.

Lastly, as we're looking at, again, CPS and the and the and the and the utility here, when he was the utility commissioner, he voted to raise the, the electricity cap.

And as a result, as a result of that, during Storm Uri, you had lots of stories about folks on fixed income being hit with these very high utility bills.

And so when you think about look at how people have used their time in public service, I've worked to help people serve to their full potential, lift them up.

He has used his time to hold people down.

You know, clear statement of difference.

The public will make their choice.

You've helped the people make the comparison.

Thank you very much for making yourself available to Carla in.

Thank you.

Rolando, welcome to Carla in.

We want to give you a an opportunity to answer questions that we know the public is interested in, in an interrupted way, so you can speak directly to what's on your mind and let the public understand who you are and why you want to be mayor.

So let's start with your background.

Tell us a little bit about your background that the public should know.

Yeah.

And how that might have influenced your decision at this point in your life to seek public office, especially the mayorship of the seventh largest city in America.

Well, thank you, Henry, and thank you to and for having me here.

Well, I was born in Mexico, to two wonderful parents, both dentists.

We moved to, Texas when I was nine years old.

My parents brought us here, obviously in search of a better life, and mostly to get a US based education.

And I came in San Antonio to San Antonio in 1985.

So I've been here for 40 years, and I came to attend Saint Mary's.

Saint Mary's recruited me, and this has been home, ever since.

This is where I met Laura, my wife.

This is where we had our children, where I started my career.

I went to school at Saint Mary's and at UTSA.

I went back to Saint Mary's Law School.

And I've basically been here the entire time, with the exception of going to Austin and to El Paso to do my public service for those communities as well.

Rolando, you have not been on the city council as most of the mayors for the last 50 years have been.

So tell me how you perceive the workings of the council manager system, the role of the mayor vis a vis the city manager, and also vis-a-vis the city council, because, in this system, council manager system, it takes six votes, to get anything done.

So how do you approach that as a newcomer to the job?

Well, so let me tell you.

So I have been around, City Hall for many, many years representing my clients there.

So I know City Hall very well.

I know a lot of the players for many years going back, I believe that the mayor, is there obviously to be the chairman of the board, if you had to use, you know, analogies from the business world and the city manager's the CEO.

The mayor's job is to bring counsel together, to create a unified vision for moving the entire community together.

So, you know, the mayor's job is really to bring the community together, ensure that the budgeting process, it, identifies and addresses the needs of the community and, mostly earns the trust and respect of, of his or her colleagues.

Another aspect of our system is that it is nonpartisan, traditionally has been nonpartisan.

Most people didn't know whether the mayor was a Democrat or a Republican, and they never came up as a governing issue.

It is an issue in this campaign, sharper than has been in the past.

Give us the public a sense how you would handle the Partizan divide as mayor.

Yeah, well, I've been very clear from the very beginning.

You know, I started talking to folks over a year and a half ago, and ever since then, I've been talking about the fact that, you know, the forefathers who, who, who wrote our charter were very wise in making it making this position nonpartisan because they knew that partizanship divides.

And, I've been very clear in my stance that, I am not going to bring Partizanship into this, position.

You know, that's the worst thing you can do because you're basically setting it up for failure.

I've coined the phrase, you know, check your partizanship at the door, and I intend to do that.

This is no room for.

There's no room for partizan partizanship here.

There's only room for bringing the community together.

And if you inject partizanship into it, you're going to continue to divide the community.

So I intend to, bring, you know, my skill set, create a very strong coalition so that every citizen has a seat at the table and a voice in the conversation, irrespective of Partizan.

Let me ask you some questions about basic city services and initiatives.

And if you could address them briefly so we can go from one to the next.

Just quickly policing and crime top priority.

Our all together.

Issues related to traffic congestion and mobility and mobility nowadays means more than just streets and highways.

It's mass transit, it's, bicycle pads, it's, walkability in neighborhoods.

The whole mobility issue very.

Important to get people from point A to point B, having, the, the ability to have employees show up to work on time and also get people back home to be with their families.

Traffic right now is robbing us of a lot of time and also money because, that is lost productivity where we're sitting in traffic.

So I that to me that's also priority.

And what kinds of things, as mayor would you like to do or see in that respect?

Well, I would like to make sure that our public transportation system is operating at peak efficiency, and also that our streets are in good repair, and that our traffic control systems are modernized, especially taking advantage of artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence applied to traffic signals.

That's right.

For example, the city government has traditionally not been involved in education, but in recent years we've taken on some important priorities, like San Antonio Education Partnership, Cafe College, pre-K for essay, and more recently ready to work in the educational field.

Would that be something you would continue or is there a different path you see?

Well, it seems to be working.

All of the ones you mentioned seem to be working.

I'll definitely take a look in seeing how we could improve upon them, particularly ready to work.

I also want to make sure that we eliminate redundancies with our school districts.

I want to be able to work with the school district districts to make sure that, you know, the city and the districts are working in tandem to achieve the objective and not duplicating efforts.

Do you think that, the vouchers initiatives out of Austin have a, a role, a place with respect to enhance education?

What I've been saying from the very beginning is that I am all in favor of competition.

I think competition is good for the consumer.

Parental choice is good, but not at the cost of fighting financing or, you know, taking the money away from the schools.

We have to make sure that the schools continue to receive the financing that they need so that they can also improve, what they're trying to do, because a lot of the schools are failing, and we have to make sure that, we turn that around.

So I want to make sure that the capital coming into these, into these schools, is sufficient enough to continue improving.

The those issues that the mayor would take a lead in, in your opinion.

We can certainly advocate for those issues.

Absolutely.

Obviously, I can't control what the school districts do.

But if we can create a, a working environment where we can collaborate towards those things, I think so.

Some people have said that, child care now is an economic development issue.

We have an initiative, pre-K for SE, which has been very important.

People have called for its expansion, but child care is even something slightly different.

Do you see a city role in, pushing child care?

Yeah, especially under the economic development umbrella.

You know, I've been advocating right now, particularly in the hospitality business, in the industry of hospitality, you have a lot of hospitality workers that can't afford childcare and can't find childcare in the evening hours or in the, in the weekend.

So I, I will be looking forward to working with the industry, with the tourism and hospitality industry to find solutions for those workers, because, right now, they have to choose between going into work or taking care of their children.

And that's not fair.

Project Marvel, big important initiative.

One of the things that will be on your plate, when you become mayor, immediately, the city's role in the, the Spurs arena, but also other elements of the project.

What is your entering position?

My entry position is that, Project Marvel could be a game changer.

It just needs to be managed properly.

We have to take a look at the financing for it.

But, look, this is a jobs creation program.

This is an economic development program.

If we were to keep up with other big cities, not only in Texas but around the country, we have to make sure that we invest in that.

If we're investing in jobs training, we should also invest in job creation and then, making sure the Spurs stay here.

I want to make sure that the Spurs stay in town and I'll go anywhere else.

So we have to work towards that.

We have to be able to bring bigger conventions.

Project Marvel includes expansion of the convention center, and then also the Alamodome.

I mean, people talk about the Alamodome but don't realize the economic impact it's had over the years.

Just right now with the Final Four, it had $400 million worth of economic impact.

So we can't be belittling the Alamodome because it is a great economic driver for us.

We have to also support it.

One of the overhanging issues, especially because of the, positions in Washington, is immigration.

Yes.

And San Antonio has traditionally been a place that has benefited from the arrival of immigrants.

Some many years ago and have made their lives here.

Others more recently.

What would be the mayor's position in your administration?

Well, and I arrived here in 85, so I am an immigrant.

The mayor's position is is we have to be welcoming to everyone.

But we also have to realize that we're a country of laws.

We have to respect the laws.

You know, sanctuary cities in Texas are illegal.

Our chief, police officers or a police chief and our sheriff have already stated that they will cooperate with federal officials.

It's part of the law.

But at the same time, we also have to recognize that a lot of the individuals who came here, especially those seeking asylum, they need to be given their due process.

They need to be, allowed to go in front of a judge or an officer so that they can, you know, have their case or.

Rule under what is the greatest differentiator on, leadership style and on the substance of policy between you and Gina Ortiz Jones?

If you wanted the public to say this is the difference, people who may be right on the fence, what is the principal difference that justifies them voting for you?

I believe that experience matters.

Experience qualifications.

What I bring to the table is not only business experience, but also my government experience.

I've run three state agencies, but most importantly, I bring in my economic development experience.

I've helped create tens of thousands of jobs as secretary of State.

That was my job.

Chief Economic Development officer.

I ran the Border Plex Alliance and El Paso Jobs Creation Organization, creating tens of thousands of jobs.

And so my ability to bring those talents together, offer them to the community, I think will help take this community to the next level.

The other thing that that I would add is the relationships that I have in Austin and in Washington.

We have to be able to have strong relationships with our leadership in both of those places and in Mexico City.

So that's what differentiates me from Gina.

And in style.

What would you say you've been on the campaign trail now.

You've seen the the performance of of the other candidate.

What is it about your leadership philosophy that might be a differentiator?

I think we I have the ability of creating coalitions, bringing people together under one vision.

I want to be able to work with the entire community.

Every single district will be a part of this.

Will have a seat at the table and a voice of the conversation.

And I've proven myself to do that multiple times.

I have the experience in creating broad based coalitions of coalitions that are needed to be able to take the city forward.

Well, I hope the public has seen what they need to see to make a good comparison and make a wise decision.

Thank you for offering yourself for public service.

Thank you Henry.

Thank you for being at Callahan.

Yes, sir.

These have been good conversations with each of the mayoral candidates.

Our hope is that this has helped you understand who they are and what they will do if elected.

And now it's up to you to make the difference you want by going to vote on June 7th.

Let's make the next four years count with the best leadership possible.

Remember, your vote counts.

Henry Cisneros, and thank you for watching.

This.