Rolando Pablos and Gina Ortiz Jones are in a runoff election to be the new mayor of San Antonio.
Gina Ortiz Jones and Rolando Pablos squared off for their first debate at San Antonio College since the field was narrowed down in Saturday’s election.
Both candidates stumped on Project Marvel, transparency in spending, and how to tackle poverty in the community.
Ortiz Jones, a former Air Force undersecretary, used her time calling out leaders at the state level like Governor Greg Abbott.
And at the federal level, with the cuts being made by DOGE, former Texas Secretary of State Pablos focused on more localized issues and how to build the workforce in San Antonio.
They also discussed how they can root out crime in the city.
When asked what the biggest crime and challenge they see in public safety, Pablos said poverty needs to be addressed.
“I am committed to tackling the poverty problem because once we do that all those other things are gonna be alleviated maybe not overnight, but if we don’t even start, you know, how do we expect to tackle those things,” said Pablos.
For Ortiz Jones, she said there was a public safety challenge in helping first responders do their jobs.
She mentioned effective recruitment, training, and resources.
“If you have 10 trucks and only 8 of them work, then you don’t have 10 trucks, right,” said Gina Ortiz Jones. “Those, that’s the type of level of detail, the type of management leadership experience. I look forward to making.”
During a heated discussing on Project Marvel, Ortiz Jones pointed out that Pablos answered a questionnaire by the Express News stating he’d support using 50% of city funding to help pay for a Spurs arena downtown.
Pablos clarified that he supports raising the taxes on visitors, not San Antonians.
Whoever is elected June 7 will serve a four-year term.
Voter turnout was less than 1% Saturday., so both candidates are also urging San Antonio to show up to the polls next month.
Early voting is set for May 27 through June 3.