Editor’s note: Find answers for all districts and the mayoral race here. Find news, resources and results from the election on our Vote 2021 page.
Saturday, May 1, 2021, is the municipal election in San Antonio. On the ballot, a rematch for mayor and nearly 80 candidates competing in 10 city council races, along with a proposition aimed at repealing the police department’s collective bargaining rights and a charter change for city bond projects.
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We wanted to be sure you had a chance to ask your most important questions to the candidates before making your decision in the election — early voting begins April 17.
We received more than 400 questions from KSAT viewers and readers for the candidates.
We chose three of the most commonly asked questions, sent to each candidate and asked them to respond by April 12.
- Are you for or against Prop B and why?
- What are your plans to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Antonio?
- What is your plan to clean up and improve our city -- specifically when it comes to the condition of our roads, litter (dumping) and graffiti?
Below are the unedited responses we received from the candidates who responded to our questions. The candidates are listed in the order they will appear on the ballot.
San Antonio City Council District 2 Candidates
Nneka “Miss Neka” Cleaver, Owner of Thai Hub
Did not respond.
Walter Perry Sr., Professional tax preparer
Are you for or against Prop B and why?
Perry: “I’m for Prop B because I believe in police accountability, NOT revenge.”
What are your plans to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Antonio?
Perry: “I want to gauge the different levels of homelessness. Let’s immediately help those who are having a hard time and set up services for those who need extensive and long-term help. I’m going to partner with local nonprofits and other agencies for support.”
What is your plan to clean up and improve our city -- specifically when it comes to the condition of our roads, litter (dumping) and graffiti?
Perry: “I want to register all graffiti artists with the city to work and help beautify the city. Another idea would be to create ‘Grafitti Parks’ where artists can go and tag all they want or partner with local businesses to do mural projects.”
Jada Andrews-Sullivan, Incumbent
Did not respond.
Pharaoh Clark, Chef, caretaker
Are you for or against Prop B and why?
Clark: “I am in support of Proposition B. Accountability is something we should have at every level of government, and Proposition B helps restore that. I have sat with Chief McManus and Sheriff Salazar on many occasions and expressed my respect for the work they and our law enforcement do on a daily basis, but we must ensure that bad police officers are held accountable by the law.”
What are your plans to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Antonio?
Clark: “I believe in comprehensive reform to address the root causes of homelessness in San Antonio. There are people who are in need of addiction rehabilitation and mental health counseling that are unable to get the help they need. We can end homelessness by being proactive in our communities.”
What is your plan to clean up and improve our city -- specifically when it comes to the condition of our roads, litter (dumping) and graffiti?
Clark: “I believe we must partner with our non-profits, judges, and community supervision officers to develop programs that allow for a trade of community service hours instead of fines or incarceration. We need to focus on cleaning up and rebuilding our communities, not dishing out punishment. When it comes to the improvement of our roads, I will work to ensure that bond money and other funding is available for the much needed road repairs throughout District 2. I will also use my powers to ensure those funds are being used effectively.”
Kristi Villanueva, Business owner
Are you for or against Prop B and why?
Villanueva: “At this moment in time, I do not support repealing Proposition B. The events of the past few years have demonstrated that we need police reform, at the national, state, and local levels. With that being said, we must also be smart in how we approach reform efforts; by repealing Ch. 174 at the local level, we risk creating an environment in which highly qualified officers and recruits seek employment outside of our jurisdiction for more favorable regulatory environments. To prevent this, I think our first round of reforms ought to focus on revitalizing our police oversight board with new members, increased staff, and funding. Furthermore, I think we can pursue a return to community policing that centers trust and relationship building between communities and the officers who serve them, which will lead to better outcomes. Finally, I support expanding city funding for mental health services and community clinics to shift responsibility from police departments to mental health experts for mental health crises.”
What are your plans to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Antonio?
Villanueva: “To reduce homelessness, we need to revamp our services to follow a wrap around, holistic model that provides support from the initial point of contact to the day services are no longer needed; as it stands, poor record keeping, discontinuity in communication and service provision, and the criminalization of homelessness means that our homeless neighbors fall off the radar fairly regularly. We also need to reduce homelessness by relieving the pressure on housing burdened individuals, which, according to SA2020 data, is nearly half of all renters and a third of homeowners. We can relieve the housing cost burden by building more, denser housing on blighted and empty lots.”
What is your plan to clean up and improve our city -- specifically when it comes to the condition of our roads, litter (dumping) and graffiti?
Villanueva: “Blighted properties, empty lots, and extant rubbish heaps reduce the spirit of community in neighborhoods and leads to more littering and disinvestment. If we are serious about having clean neighborhoods, we need to return to community clean up days, modeled after national day of service, that harness our community resources to revitalize our neighborhoods. These clean up days would return a sense of community in our built environment, while also providing opportunities for people to partner with local nonprofits and for kids to be exposed to community service and engagement. For graffiti concerns, we must work with our public works departments to ensure gang related graffiti is removed, and that departments have the funding for anti-graffiti paint. For public street art, we should work with local businesses and public parks to provide approved areas for artwork; we could even have a public art festival day for artists to take over blank walls and for the public to tour these art sites. We could make it a semi-annual event, where every six months a new group of artists repaint the walls. For roads, we must invest in sidewalks and road repair, with an eye towards equity. The new federal administration has announced infrastructure as a priority; as funding becomes available, we must position our city to attract investment and capitalize on grants to fuel smart growth and rebuilding.”
Michael John Good, Construction, Logistics
Did not respond.
Norris Tyrone Darden, Educator
Are you for or against Prop B and why?
Darden: “My approach toward Propositions is that of a Citizen and not a Candidate but for total transparency I’ll respond. Prop A & B are on the ballot so just as voters are expected to inspect each candidate and the reliability of the campaign the same approach at least for me goes for these props. I am 100% for accountability and promote safe communities. My wedge in the matter is that those For Prop B have not presented a direct correlation to Collective Bargaining and unsafe communities. If repealing Chapter 174 creates a safer environment for citizens I’m For Prop B but as I stated the campaign has not articulated that in a clear and concise way. I will be tuned in to the April 8th opportunity provided by KSAT.”
What are your plans to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Antonio?
Darden: “San Antonio needs a tiered comprehensive plan that addresses house and homelessness. A. A pathway for low socioeconomic families and or underemployed families toward homeownership through collaborations with home builders, housing authorities, investors and other related and interested entities. A covenant with the Rental Community to move from the standard 12-18 month leases to 3-5 years leases creating more stability within renters homelife. Create a transitional living pipeline that doesn’t stop at shelters or temporary housing. There are many more ideas, strategies and plans but these are a few that could be fleshed out.”
What is your plan to clean up and improve our city -- specifically when it comes to the condition of our roads, litter (dumping) and graffiti?
Darden: “As leaders, San Antonio has to do better on prioritizing funds/resources and how equitable funds/resources are being distributed. COSA has a habit of kicking the can and either hoping for an act of God or relying on the fact that the communities with the highest infrastructure needs are detached and disengaged (very low civic engagement). So for our roads the bond money allocated for fixing these roads need to be used to fix the roads. If the project is under budget then those additional funds need to go to the next priority project not a ‘pet project’. Law enforcement should enforce ordinances that prohibit heavy weighted vehicles (Article VIII Section 19-292 assesses a $500 fine) and the money collected should go to road maintenance and repair. Any funds collected from taxation of ‘truck routes’ should be dedicated to road maintenance and repair. Dumping typically occurs in poorly maintained and poorly lit areas. If the area being dumped in is a private property the city should work with the owner to provide appropriate lighting and surveillance. If the property owner is not cooperative or absentee other measures like fines and/or a bill for clean up, lighting and surveillance could be assessed for community safety. Another approach to dumping is better communication to the residents on appropriate ways to discard debris, junk and unwanted belongings. Some people are just ignorant to processes but once informed are compliant. Graffiti has 3 layers in my opinion. Some may just be a deviant and need to be caught and fined and if the deviant behavior continues they should be arrested and put on some type of community supervision. Some may be using graffiti as a cry for help or attention and this energy should be redirected to something positive like a canvas via an art class or project and potentially some mental health resources if any type of anxiety, depresion, anger, etc is visible or communicated. And finally, some graffiti may just be an expression of art and if this is the case we need to partner these artists with business owners that could partner in the beautification of their properties as well with the city for sanctioned public space projects.”
Chris Dawkins, Business owner
Are you for or against Prop B and why?
Dawkins: “I am in favor of Prop B
“First, I feel there is erroneous information being put out to sway voter opinion. Before anyone can make a proper decision on this issue, there must be a clear understanding of what is being proposed.
“Second, I feel Prop B provides an opportunity to negotiate a better contract for both parties. Putting this on the ballot (to me) is almost like the people acting as a mediator between the city and SAPOA. If the city were to ask for this on their own, San Antonio Police Officers Association (SAPOA) would accuse the city of not negotiating fairly. Doing it this way, puts the will of the people (who cannot be ignored) right into the middle of negotiations.
“And finally, the people wants the city to discipline bad officers when they have misbehaved and we don’t want officers being protected by their union when they clearly have not performed as we would want our officers acting while they put on the badge for our San Antonio Police Dept.”
What are your plans to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Antonio
Dawkins: “NOTE: I would like to have a workable solution to Homelessness in San Antonio. Yet, I DO NOT want to become a magnet in drawing homeless people to our city. First, I might want to consider labeling Homelessness as a health concern.
(a) Homelessness – is a set of situations
- financial instability caused by underemployment or joblessness
- chronic substance abuse
- domestic violence, and
- mental health conditions
(a) poverty,
- which means that people are deprived or don’t have access to
- food,
- housing,
- education,
- healthcare, and
- other amenities
“Moreover, battered women living in poverty either choose to live a life full of abuse and domestic violence or homelessness.
“Second, I want to know why Haven For Hope is failing?
“Third, what can we learn from other cities around the country and around the world.
“I AM NOT IN FAVOR OF THE HOTEL IDEA!!”
What is your plan to clean up and improve our city -- specifically when it comes to the condition of our roads, litter (dumping) and graffiti?
Dawkins: “Spoiler ALERT!!! San Antonio has THE BEST pot-hole repair group in the nation!
“Our roads are mainly a TxDot issue our pot-hole group above takes care of city streets.
“Litter, dumping & graffiti will carry HUGE FINES to discourage this activity. Graffiti is such a problem that possible jail and community service should be considered when we find guilty parties. On the other hand, I would love to have city, state and national graffiti competition to work through our arts department to allow this activity in a controlled way.”
Dori Brown, Tax preparer
Are you for or against Prop B and why?
Brown: “Not totally for nor totally against. I believe there should be some police reform made. I’m concerned with how repealing Charter 174 will affect the fire department.”
What are your plans to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Antonio?
Brown: “First identify organizations that are currently working with this individuals. Find out their mission and what resources they’re working with and are need of, then build on that. See how we can pull together their resources and if what is needed but not available then execute a plan to fill the void.”
What is your plan to clean up and improve our city -- specifically when it comes to the condition of our roads, litter (dumping) and graffiti?
Brown: “Look at what’s available in the current 2017-2022 bond, make sure those projects are complete. Establish a speed bump program, like the fill a pothole initiative, to help traffic control in various neighbors. Speed up the process of fixing our roads, expand the bulky trash collection to areas of frequent dumping and work with local artist to possibly deter graffiti.”
Andrew Fernandez Vicencio, Retired military
Are you for or against Prop B and why?
Vicencio: “I am voting NO on both Proposition. Why? Because I don’t want City Council to have a Blank Check on OUR Tax Money and We need our Police. We only have 2380 Officers for a City of 1.5 Million and growing.
We need at least 3500 Officers Minimum”
What are your plans to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Antonio?
Vicencio: “We need a jobs program and OPEN up totally to give jobs to homeless folks who do want to work.”
What is your plan to clean up and improve our city -- specifically when it comes to the condition of our roads, litter (dumping) and graffiti?
Vicencio: “Enforce Laws on Graffiti and cut wasteful spending to fix our roads instead of building $25 million Land Bridge or Stop wasteful Spending on 3000 homeless$80 Million spent. We still have homeless. Where did that Tax Money Go????”
Carl Booker, Publisher
Did not respond.
Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, Teacher
Are you for or against Prop B and why?
McKee-Rodriguez: “I am supportive of Proposition B and believe it will be a means to mend police-community relations. Our City deserves good faith negotiations between the City and SAPD, but the union has leveraged loopholes to escape any meaningful reforms and accountability. For example, even if the city negotiates in good faith, the union can refuse any changes and keep their current contract by invoking the 8 year long evergreen clause and wait for new Councilmembers. By Voting Yes on Proposition B, the City will have the opportunity to negotiate better pay, better benefits, and ensure fired officers stay fired.
What are your plans to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Antonio
McKee-Rodriguez: “We need creative solutions that recognize the complexities of homelessness. My plans include the purchase of a vacant hotel to be used as temporary and emergency shelter for those seeking shelter. In these hotels, we must ensure access to mental healthcare services and drug counseling. We must also increase access to quality jobs, affordable and sustainable housing, and mental healthcare access across the city.
What is your plan to clean up and improve our city -- specifically when it comes to the condition of our roads, litter (dumping) and graffiti?
McKee-Rodriguez: “We must increase the frequency of city services, such as street sweepers. I will advocate for major drainage improvements in the bond program to reduce the effects of flooding that caused increased damage to our roads, look for ways to reduce infrastructure improvement costs so more street improvement projects can be completed each year, and increase access to opportunities for young people. Young people have little to no access to recreational activities and find alternative ways to keep themselves busy, sometimes through graffiti. The establishment of an ‘Art Park’ or graffiti wall would provide a fun, creative solution in addition to many of the long-term solutions that are needed.”
Find out if you are a San Antonio resident and which city council and school district you are in here.
Important Election Dates
- Monday, April 19, 2021: FIRST day of Early Voting.
- Tuesday, April 27, 2021: LAST day of Early Voting.
- Saturday, May 1, 2021: Election Day
Find more information about the election here and visit our elections page for the latest election-related stories.
Click on the races below to read more candidates’ answers to the KSAT.com reader questions: