Early voting begins Feb. 10 ahead of the March 3 elections.
SAN ANTONIO — A former longtime Bexar County judge has given his blessing for Ron Nirenberg to be the position’s future as early voting looms in the primary election.
The Nirenberg campaign shared on Instagram that it secured an endorsement from Nelson Wolff, who served as county judge from 2001 until the end of 2022, when he decided not to run for reelection after two decades.
Accompanying the post was a video showing Wolff praising Nirenberg’s experience. He also pointed to the more than 300 consecutive nights of daily coronavirus pandemic updates that saw them addressing the community on a united front while Nirenberg was serving as San Antonio mayor, during what would turn out to be some of Wolff’s final months as county judge.
“I know what it takes to do that job. And I know that Ron Nirenberg has those skills,” Wolff said in the video shared on social media. “He’s a strong leader. He understands the city, (and brings those skills to the county. I would encourage you very much to vote for Ron Nirenberg during the upcoming Democratic primary.”
The key endorsement comes less than a week before the start of early voting in the primary elections. Nirenberg is running to unseat Peter Sakai, who is seeking a second term as county judge.
Meanwhile, the unions representing San Antonio police, San Antonio firefighters and Bexar County sheriff’s deputies are expected to formally announce their joint endorsement of Sakai on Thursday.
“The unified support of Judge Sakai from all three first responder organizations, marks a historic moment and underscores our confidence in his leadership, judgement and commitment to public safety,” Danny Diaz, president of the San Antonio Police Officers Association, said in a release.
Nirenberg and Sakai debated the issues for over an hour on Tuesday night, covering everything from flood prevention efforts and immigration enforcement to homelessness and Project Marvel. Sakai touted a strategy of “communicate, collaborate, coordinate” and emphasized a back-to-basics approach while his challenger, who served four terms as mayor – the maximum allowed by the City Charter – argued Bexar County needs more proactive leadership.
Per the latest finance reports submitted by both campaigns, Sakai had about $483,000 on hand entering February, having raised nearly $177,000 from Jan. 1-22, compared to the roughly $52,000 total Nirenberg raised in that same time. Nirenberg had about $347,000 on hand entering February.
The winner of the March 3 Democratic primary will face Republican Patrick Von Dohlen, who is running unopposed in his party’s primary, in the general election this fall.