Whyte said he aligned with Pablos when it comes to spending and infrastructure as the June 7 mayoral runoff election looms.
SAN ANTONIO — When it comes to the endorsement scoreboard in San Antonio’s mayoral runoff election, Gina Ortiz Jones has so far outpaced Rolando Pablos, securing the support of multiple City Council members as well as former Mayors Julian Castro and Phil Hardberger.
But Pablos, who served as Texas secretary of state for two years under Gov. Greg Abbott, notched a key endorsement from someone he’s hoping to join in City Hall next month.
At a Wednesday celebration event following his District 10 re-election, City Councilman Marc Whyte officially announced he was endorsing Pablos ahead of the June 7 runoff. Speaking with KENS 5 about his decision, Whyte said Pablos’ experience, temperament and collaborative nature were key factors when considering who he thought was the best person to lead San Antonio “at a pivotal moment for our city.”
He also pointed to the infrastructure concerns, economic development experience and international relationships Pablos has touted consistently on the campaign trail.
“Most importantly, he shares my belief that (in) every decision we make, we should think about how we can most positively and directly impact our citizens’ everyday lives,” Whyte said. “That’s what I believe the role of City Council is and I believe Rolando believes that too.”
Whyte and Pablos also align when it comes to their desire for smarter spending of city dollars.
The councilman has previously supported the idea of moving to a zero-based budgeting system – his proposal involves starting the annual budget process from financial scratch every five years – while the mayoral candidate has said fiscal responsibility would be a priority if elected.
That issue resonates even louder in this election, which comes as the city continues discussions about a downtown sports and entertainment district dream expected to cost billions.
“It’s certainly one of the first things he and I were able to connect on: We have to spend money better as a city,” Whyte said. “We have a finite amount of resources here, and what we do with those resources – those taxpayer dollars – is extremely important.”
Though the mayoral race is nonpartisan, as are all city contests, the head-to-head mayoral runoff has managed to delineate itself along red and blue lines—from the candidates’ priorities to the endorsements they’ve so far secured.
City Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, City Councilman-elect Edward Mungia and City Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran have endorsed Ortiz Jones, giving her a contingent of progressive-leaning council support to go along with the vote of confidence from Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, a Democrat.
Whyte, meanwhile, has been perhaps City Council’s most conservative member over the last two years. If he had it his way, it wouldn’t come down to politics at all—something he says he believes has happened with his colleagues who’ve announced official endorsements.
“I really try to look at this as, who is the most qualified person to run this city?” he says. “Fixing streets and pipes and drainage systems—those are not red and blue issues. Those just need to be done. And Rolando is somebody that I’ve known to not have extreme views on anything. He’s somebody who I believe can relate to all people in San Antonio.”
Pablos also previously won the endorsement of the San Antonio police union, and on Friday said he also had the support of former San Antonio-area state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte.
Van de Putte’s endorsement reflects Whyte’s mindset of refusing to align strictly to political ideology. Herself a Democrat, she said in a statement about Pablos that she believes “experience matters more than party labels.”
The runoff election is set for June 7, and early voting gets underway Tuesday. The winner will succeed Ron Nirenberg, who has been in office for eight years, the maximum allowed by the City Charter.