I’m starting this week’s Monday Musings with a question for readers, and I hope you’ll share your thoughts. How deeply should our bigcitysmalltown podcast cover the San Antonio mayor’s race?
What might seem like a question with an obvious answer is anything but. The deadline for candidate filing ended at the close of business on Friday, and with District 9 Councilman John Courage’s last-minute re-entry into the race, 27 people have filed, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Even accounting for the pretenders with no prospects to attract campaign funds or mount credible campaigns, that might be a record field. The candidate count was 20 when the San Antonio Report published this Feb. 3 article.
Here’s the challenge for a weekly podcast: Early voting, which traditionally accounts for the majority of votes in local elections and seldom attracts even 2 of 10 eligible voters, will be held April 22-29. Election Day is Saturday, May 3. The podcast is already booked with confirmed guests through early March. That leaves seven weeks before early voting starts.
How do we undertake a fair and informative process in that time frame? Even if we reduce the field to candidates who file campaign finance reports and work to engage likely voters, we would have more candidates than weeks.
One possibility is to dedicate April to candidate forums in which we invite two or three candidates into the studio to respond to the same specific questions. That would help us avoid each candidate's often-meaningless talking points and sound bites, e.g. vague promises to fight crime, reduce homelessness, and win greater funding for district residents.
I am more interested in questions like these:
What is your exact position on how to fund Project Marvel, including a new Spurs arena at Hemisfair, expansion of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, undertaking major improvements to the Alamodome, and constructing a land bridge across I-37 to connect the near-Eastside with downtown?
Would you recommend the use of the 2027 bond or other financial instruments to help Bexar County Commissioners invest in the areas surrounding the Frost Bank Center where the Spurs now play if the team moves back to Hemisfair?
Will you continue Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s Ready to Work program, and if so, what would you consider to be realistic goals for retraining workers, securing employment, and at what wages?
If elected, will you push for future bond funding for affordable housing, thus continuing the $150 million investment the city is making with the 2022 Affordable Housing Bond?
I could go on, but my only interest would be in asking set questions that require specific responses. This newsletter could serve as an additional medium to share candidate positions with voters.
What are your thoughts?
