Interview: Mayor Ron Nirenberg closes out eight years
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Photo Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photo: Rick Kern/Getty Images
As Mayor Ron Nirenberg prepares to depart the office this summer, he's leaving San Antonio with more affordable housing money, transportation plans, a workforce development program and, most recently, major proposals to bring sports and development downtown.
Why it matters: Nirenberg is set to be San Antonio's longest-serving mayor since the 1980s. He's reaching his term limits at a time when a major project proposal to move the Spurs downtown hangs in the balance and when the city faces fluctuations in federal funding.
State of play: The city has clashed with the Texas Legislature on local control and lost millions in federal health funding under the Trump administration.
Catch up quick: Nirenberg will head back to Trinity University in August to work as a distinguished communications professor.
- San Antonio's next mayor will be either former Air Force undersecretary Gina Ortiz Jones or former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, who are competing in a June 7 runoff election. Both have strong ties to Democratic and Republican party politics, respectively.
The big picture: Nirenberg tells Axios he sees his major successes as:
- Recent expansions of Pre-K 4 SA and the creation of the taxpayer-funded Ready to Work program during the pandemic.
- Plans for two VIA rapid bus lines, including one that will run from the airport to the Missions, to create something like a mass transit system for San Antonio.
- The passage of the city's first true affordable housing bond alongside upgraded housing goals.
- The $2.5 billion overhaul of San Antonio International Airport, which includes a new terminal under construction.
We sat down to talk with Nirenberg about recent news affecting the city. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
We're getting into the home stretch of the Texas legislative session. Are there bills out there that give you concern for the city and its residents?
State Republicans are "eroding self-governance in local communities, particularly urban communities where public opinion is clearly not on the side of the culture wars they're waging.
"There's a bill called HB 19 that would essentially prevent every urban community in the state from issuing debt to support basic infrastructure."
How do you personally think a mayor should toe the line between working with state officials and pushing back when you represent a blue city in a red state?
"We have a perfectly fine relationship with the state when we're working together on a common cause and when we have reasonable debate. It would be a perverse relationship with the state if the expectation is, when they abuse our citizens, we shut up about it."
How should the city position itself heading into future years of the Trump administration? You have cuts to services and jobs that could harm locals and local institutions, and maybe the city budget and certain projects.
"We're going to have to continue to get through the rough waters ahead, and that's the concern I have for the next mayor — that these are very challenging times coming up economically. … We're gonna have to triage our priorities and our resources accordingly."
Recently, proposals to bring the Missions and Spurs downtown have left some people feeling like downtown will become too expensive for everyday residents. Do you share those concerns?
"We've gotten a handle on ensuring there's a proper balance to the housing development in downtown that is a mix of affordability and market rate and everything around that. The reason for getting our fundamentals and getting our priorities straight … is so that we can do the things that major cities do to build quality of life."
If the Spurs move downtown, how much do you think the city should contribute or not to a new arena, and what type of fund(s) should it be if the city does contribute?
"I believe that visitor taxes are a suitable source. … I do think none of this will happen without significant contributions from the Spurs and from private equity. The reality is this is not going to be coming from residents' property taxes."
What advice would you give to San Antonio's next mayor?
"Continue to work hand in hand with (city manager) Erik (Walsh) and his team.
"This city works best when the mayor and the council are working in partnership with the staff. … It doesn't work so well when elected officials are only interested in scoring political points."
What is next for you? Will you stay in politics?
"I don't think I'm done with politics, and that's because I see the urgency of the issues that are confronting this community."