Gina Ortiz Jones: bigcitysmalltown Mayoral Questionnaire
1. What qualifications support your bid for the job as mayor of San Antonio, and how are you reaching registered voters with a history of participating in local elections? (Please cite campaign fundraising, media buys, community events, mailers, etc.)
I bring a lifetime of service, leadership, and a results-driven approach that no other candidate in this race can match. As the Under Secretary of the Air Force, the second highest civilian leading the Department of the Air Force, I managed a $173 billion budget and led 600,000 personnel. I ensured resources were used efficiently and policies worked for the people they served. I look forward to bringing my service and leadership in service to my hometown.
Growing up on San Antonio’s far Westside, I understand the challenges many families face, because I lived them. Additionally, my experience navigating complex government systems—whether in the military, economic policy, or public service—means I know how to deliver solutions for our city.
I have a proven record of fighting for working families, expanding opportunities, and removing bureaucratic barriers. San Antonio is at a turning point, and I am ready to bring bold leadership, accountability, and a clear vision to ensure every resident has the opportunity to thrive.
We have knocked over 40,000 doors, hosted many volunteer-organized meet and greets, and gained over 28 endorsements from local leaders, unions, and national groups.
2. What endorsements, if any, have you garnered?
- VoteVets
- EMILYs List
- LGBTQ Victory Fund
- Elect Democratic Women
- With Honor
- LPAC
- The Next 50
- New Politics
- Asian American Action Fund
- Way to Lead
- Annie’s List
- Northside AFT
- CWA
- North East Bexar County Democrats
- Unite HERE Local 23
- Human Rights Campaign SA
- American Federation of Government Employees Local
- Sen. Tammy Duckworth
- Rep. Veronica Escobar
- Rep. Jason Crow
- St. Rep. Gene Wu
- State Sen Wendy Davis
- Judge Lina Hidalgo
- Amanda Zurawski
- Eric Alva
- LGBTQ+ Leaders
3. What programs and priorities initiated under Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s four terms in office would you continue and/or change? Which ones would you discontinue?
Upskilling our workforce is critical to building a strong, inclusive economy where San Antonians can thrive. Programs like Ready to Work have the right intent—helping people gain the skills they need to compete for good-paying jobs—but we owe it to voters and participants to ensure the program is delivering on its promises.
As of early January 2025, Ready to Work was falling short of its goal to place at least 80% of graduates into approved jobs within six months. According to the program’s own dashboard, only 57% met that target, and even after 12 months, 26% of participants still hadn’t been placed in approved jobs. That’s not good enough.
We need to refocus this program so that it better aligns with the actual needs of our community—targeting industries with high demand and ensuring participants are set up for success the moment they complete their training. We must be transparent and responsible with taxpayer dollars. Voters didn’t approve this program to subsidize professional development programs within multi-million dollar companies or train workers to go to other cities.
4. What are your priorities for the city’s 2027 bond, which will be determined in 2026 by the new mayor and city council members?
One of my earliest memories is sharing a queen-size bed with my mom, grandmother, and sister in a single bedroom we rented while waiting for our number to be called for government-subsidized housing. Years later, a VA loan helped me buy a home. That journey—from housing insecurity to homeownership—shaped who I am and how I lead. Affordable housing isn’t just a talking point for me. I’ve lived it, and I know how foundational housing is to a person’s health, stability, and future.
Right now, nearly 95,000 families in San Antonio are experiencing housing instability, while 67,000 families are on the Opportunity Home waitlist. Rising rents, soaring property taxes, and long commutes are hurting working families, seniors, and young people alike. As Mayor, housing affordability will be a top priority from day one and would be a high priority for the upcoming bond.
The bond is also an opportunity to invest in the infrastructure needed to support our economic development goals. The San Antonio region is the 21st largest manufacturing region in the country. As Mayor, my priority would be moving our city up the rankings to capture more of the market share and bring more good-paying jobs to San Antonio. I would examine opportunities to use the bond to help us do just that.
5. Do you support the city’s proposed public-private investments in Project Marvel, or do you oppose them? If you support Project Marvel, what do you think is a fair private/public split on building a new Spurs arena in Hemisfair?
Project Marvel has the opportunity to transform downtown; however, there is insufficient publicly available data to assess the return on investment for the community. The public deserves much more transparency on how such a generational investment will improve the lives of San Antonians, because voters remember too well the promises around
previously publicly-financed sports venues: an NFL team with the Alamodome, 20% of Spurs’ profits annually and Eastside revitalization with the AT&T Center. None of that was realized.
Before committing public funds, we must have clear financial projections and enforceable agreements. We need to ensure the contributions to the General Fund will cover the additional public safety costs for our first responders, as well as understand how labor and small businesses will be considered as part of this generational development. If we’re investing taxpayer money, the public must see tangible returns—in job creation, economic development, and community benefits. As mayor, I’ll ensure that public investments are transparent, fiscally responsible, and truly serve our city and not just a few.
6. What are your economic development and job growth strategies? Since the pandemic, more than 150 corporations have moved their headquarters to Texas, yet San Antonio has not shared significantly in convincing those companies to come here. How can we change that?
As Mayor, I would take a data-driven approach to drive investments in those areas key to our economic growth and competitiveness. For example, a key data point–and a circumstance that hinders our economic growth and competitiveness in the long-term–is the fact that over half of the kids in our community in grades 3-8 are not reading at level, nor do they possess the math skills at level. To address this, I propose a number of initiatives in my first 100 days (see GinaOrtizJones.com) to understand how we can strengthen the pipeline of talent–namely understanding the cost to fully fund PreK4SA in our community, repurposing recently shuttered schools into early childhood programs/childcare, and expediting the review of housing projects that help us simultaneously meet several of our community objectives. We must use data to understand and address our near and long-term economic challenges and opportunities and plan holistically with infrastructure, public health, and public safety in mind.
7. San Antonians worry that as the city grows, it could lose its unique cultural identity, much as Austin has changed due to rising housing and living costs. What will you do to grow the city’s job base while making sure what makes San Antonio special is not lost?
As your next Mayor, I will fight every day to make sure San Antonio continues to grow in a way that lifts up our families without pushing them out. I know what makes our city special — our culture, our communities, and the people who built them. Growth doesn’t have to come at the expense of who we are.
That’s why I’m committed to smart, inclusive growth that creates good-paying jobs while protecting our neighborhoods. I’ll streamline the approval process for developments that include affordable housing that include childcare, and help us meet our transit-oriented objectives. I’ll also launch a Frontline Workers Homeownership Program so teachers, nurses, first responders, and other essential workers can afford to live in the city they serve.
I understand that what you do is as important as how you do it. As mayor, I’ll hold monthly town halls throughout the city to hear directly from voters. Facebook Live and Zooms are great, but nothing can replace face-to-face conversations.
Preserving what makes San Antonio unique also means investing in our future. I’ll ensure every child has access to early education by assessing how we can expand PreK4SA, including repurposing recently closed schools. When we support families and ensure our kids get the start they deserve, we grow a workforce that reflects the values and vibrancy of our city.
8. San Antonio has faced record heat, extreme drought conditions, and episodes like Winter Storm Uri, yet city leaders have largely failed to implement the 2019 Climate Action & Adaptation Plan. Federal and state political leaders largely ignore climate change and are rapidly defunding renewable energy projects while subsidizing the oil and gas industry. What is your position on this critical issue?
Addressing the impacts of climate change is an economic necessity and an economic opportunity. We must invest in approaches that make our community more resilient to the impacts of climate change, particularly in areas that are least prepared for such impacts (e.g., communities with insufficient drainage, urban heat islands). As Mayor, I would also prioritize creating an ecosystem that would make San Antonio an attractive location for companies specializing in climate change-related advancements (e.g., carbon capture). From our existing advantages in the manufacturing sector to smart incentives that could lure such companies, as Mayor, I would take an “all of the above” approach to help us reach our adaptation, mitigation, and resiliency goals while also working in concert with economic partners to attract businesses operating in this critical sector.
9. San Antonio is experiencing worsening traffic congestion and air quality, with rising cases of asthma and other respiratory ailments. How do you plan to improve mobility in the city while balancing affordability and sustainability? What role should alternative transportation options play?
As Mayor, I would tackle our congestion challenges in the context of our public health challenges, understanding that poor air quality exacerbates respiratory ailments in our community that is already under-insured and medically underserved. I would work to accelerate public transit investments that help us address congestion and public health challenges, while also proactively investing in public transit that will clearly be needed (i.e., expanding the Green Line to Brooks given the significant growth on the Southside). We should also assess how alternative transportation options can be used to address congestion in high-traffic areas like downtown–by residents and tourists alike–while understanding how such transportation options could enhance the mobility independence of aging populations in our city.
10. Describe one new idea you have for accelerating the city’s trajectory as a destination for visitors, conventions, and people moving here for opportunities.
It’s unclear that “one new idea” could accelerate the city’s trajectory as a destination for all of the communities noted, because the communities are so different. However, of the three, my focus would be on accelerating people moving here for opportunities, and I think that requires simultaneously addressing housing affordability alongside other quality of life factors: sustainable mobility options, walkability, green spaces, and quality early childhood education and childcare, to name a few.
