San Antonio, Texas
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| San Antonio, Texas | |
 | |
| General information | |
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| Mayor: | Ron Nirenberg |
| Last mayoral election: | 2021 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2023 |
| Last city council election: | 2021 |
| Next city council election: | 2023 |
| City council seats: | 11[1] |
| City website | |
| Composition data (2019) | |
| Population: | 1,508,083 |
| Race: | White 80.3% African American 7.0% Asian 2.8% Native American 0.8% Pacific Islander 0.1% Two or more 3.0% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic 64.2% |
| Median household income: | $52,455 |
| High school graduation rate: | 82.4% |
| College graduation rate: | 26.0% |
| Related San Antonio offices | |
| Texas Congressional Delegation Texas State Legislature Texas state executive offices | |
San Antonio is a city in Bexar County, Texas. The city's population was 1,434,625 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government[edit]
- See also: Council-manager government
The city of San Antonio utilizes a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council—which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body—appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.[2][3]
Mayor[edit]
The mayor is a member of the city council. They preside over council meetings and official city ceremonies. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.[3][4]
The current Mayor of San Antonio is Ron Nirenberg. Nirenberg assumed office on June 21, 2017.
City manager[edit]
The city manager is the city's chief executive officer. The responsibilities of the city manager include overseeing the city's day-to-day operations, planning and implementing the city's operating budget, and appointing departmental directors and other senior-level positions.[2][3][5]
City council[edit]
The San Antonio City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, approving mayoral appointees, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies and ordinances.[6]
The San Antonio City Council is made up of eleven members, including the mayor. While the mayor is elected at large, the other ten members are elected by the city's ten districts.[6]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials[edit]
Ballotpedia does not cover any additional city officials in San Antonio, Texas.
Mayoral partisanship[edit]
San Antonio has an independent mayor. As of July 2022, 62 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 are affiliated with the Republican Party, four are independents, seven identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. While most mayoral elections in the 100 largest cities are nonpartisan, most officeholders are affiliated with a political party. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Elections[edit]
2021[edit]
The city of San Antonio, Texas, held general elections for mayor and city council on May 1, 2021. The filing deadline for this election was February 12, 2021.
2019[edit]
The city of San Antonio, Texas, held general elections for mayor and all 10 seats on the city council on May 4, 2019. A runoff election was scheduled for June 8, 2019. The filing deadline for this election was February 15, 2019.
2017[edit]
Runoff[edit]
The city of San Antonio, Texas, held runoff elections for mayor and six of its 10 city council seats on June 10, 2017.
General[edit]
The city of San Antonio, Texas, held general elections for mayor and all 10 of its city council seats on May 6, 2017. Candidates had to earn a majority of the votes cast in this election to win. Any race where no candidate received a majority (50 percent plus one) of the general election votes cast for that position advanced to a runoff election on June 10, 2017.
2015[edit]
The city of San Antonio, Texas, held elections for mayor and city council on May 9, 2015. A runoff election took place on June 13, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was February 27, 2015. All 10 city council seats were up for election.[7]
2014[edit]
The city of San Antonio, Texas, held a nonpartisan special election for the District 2 seat of the San Antonio City Council in conjunction with the state and federal general elections on November 4, 2014. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was August 21, 2014.[8]
The special election was held to fill the District 2 seat vacated by Ivy R. Taylor. In July 2014, Taylor was appointed as Mayor of San Antonio when President Barack Obama tapped former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to serve as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In August 2014, the San Antonio City Council appointed Keith A. Toney to hold the seat the until the November 4 elections. The special election took place to fill a partial term through 2015.[9]
Census information[edit]
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for San Antonio (2020) | |
|---|---|
| San Antonio | |
| Population | 1,529,133 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 498 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 71.9% |
| Black/African American | 6.8% |
| Asian | 3% |
| Native American | 0.7% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% |
| Two or more | 10.1% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 64.7% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 82.7% |
| College graduation rate | 26.4% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $53,420 |
| Persons below poverty level | 17.6% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020) | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget[edit]
The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from October 1 to September 30 of the next year. The Office of Management and Budget is responsible for developing the city's budget. The process begins with public hearings throughout the city. Next, a five-year forecast is presented to the city council prior to developing a budget, so that future revenues and expenses are taken into account. After receiving public input and a service priorities list from the city council, the city manager, and city staff create the budget proposal. The city council may then make any changes before adopting the budget. The deadline for budget adoption is September 27. The city is required by state law to maintain a balanced budget.[3][10]
Fiscally standardized cities data[edit]
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[11]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[12] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[13] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure[edit]
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[11]
San Antonio, Texas salaries and pensions over $95,000[edit]
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information[edit]
Mayor's office
100 Military Plaza
San Antonio, TX 78205
Phone: 210-207-7107
City Clerk's office
114 W. Commerce
San Antonio, TX 78205
Phone: 210-207-7253
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures[edit]
- See also: Bexar County, Texas ballot measures
The city of San Antonio is in Bexar County. A list of ballot measures in Bexar County is available here.
Noteworthy events[edit]
2018-2021: Sanctuary policy preemption conflicts between the federal and local governments[edit]
On November 30, 2018, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) filed a lawsuit in Travis County against the city of San Antonio, its police chief, and city manager. The attorney general asked the court to order the city and its officials to comply with Senate Bill 4, a state law intended to compel local compliance with federal immigration laws. The lawsuit argued Police Chief William McManus violated SB 4 in 2017 when he released 12 individuals suspected of entering the U.S. without legal permission.[14]
On December 23, 2017, San Antonio police found the 12 individuals in an 18-wheel truck. The police interviewed the individuals and then released them, rather than turning the case over to federal authorities.[15]
Paxton argued, "By a series of orchestrated and intentional actions, McManus and [the San Antonio Police Department] enforced a policy of prohibiting and materially limiting [Homeland Security Investigation] from enforcing federal immigration laws and prohibited and materially limited their officers from cooperating with ICE to enforce federal immigration laws."[16]
San Antonio City Attorney Andy Segovia said in a written statement, "The Attorney General's characterizations of what happened that day are clearly aimed at furthering a political agenda. The City has a long history of cooperating with federal authorities and we will continue to do so."[17]
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd[edit]
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including San Antonio, following the death of George Floyd. Events in San Antonio, Texas began on Saturday, May 30, 2020, at Travis Park.[18] The same day, Mayor Ron Nirenberg (NP) issued a curfew.[19] On May 30, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced that he had activated the Texas National Guard. The following day, he declared an emergency and announced that national guard members and state troopers had been sent to the city.[20]
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws[edit]
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described San Antonio, Texas, as a city or county that did not prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[21]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Search Google News for this topic
- Official city website
- Office of the Mayor
- San Antonio City Council
- San Antonio Office of Budget and Management
- San Antonio City Charter and Code
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ The mayor is included in this number as one of the city council members.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 City of San Antonio, "About Us," accessed September 2, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 City of San Antonio, "City Charter," printed July 2021
- ↑ City of San Antonio, "Mayor," accessed September 2, 2021
- ↑ City of San Antonio, "Manager," accessed September 2, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 City of San Antonio, "Council: About," accessed October 24, 2014
- ↑ Harris County, "Important 2015 Election Dates," accessed January 12, 2015
- ↑ City of San Antonio, "Department News: November 2014 Special City Election to fill a Vacancy in City Council District 2," July 24, 2014
- ↑ San Antonio Express News, "Five vie for District 2 seat," September 27, 2014
- ↑ City of San Antonio, "Components of Budget Development," accessed September 2, 2021
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed June 4, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed May 26, 2021
- ↑ Attorney General of Texas, "AG Paxton Sues City of San Antonio to Comply with State and Federal Immigration Laws," November 30, 2018
- ↑ Hot Air, "Texas Attorney General Sues San Antonio Over Sanctuary City Law," December 2, 2018
- ↑ Travis County District Court, Paxton v. McManus, November 30, 2018
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Texas attorney general sues SAPD chief, city for releasing suspected undocumented immigrants," November 30, 2018
- ↑ KSAT, "Peaceful protest over George Floyd’s death erupts into violence in downtown San Antonio," May 31, 2020
- ↑ KENS 5, "After peaceful protests, rioters confront police, vandalize downtown San Antonio," May 31, 2020
- ↑ Chron, "Abbott signs Texas disaster declaration following George Floyd protests," May 31, 2020
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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