SAN ANTONIO – Northwest Side Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda announced her long-expected bid for San Antonio mayor Wednesday morning.
Speaking on the steps of City Hall, Cabello Havrda said it’s time to focus on strong leadership in San Antonio, and her community has been asking her to run for a long time.
“We have to bring that unity here to San Antonio, and that’s why I bring to the table,” Cabello Havrda said.
She continued her speech with, “My name is Melissa Cabello Havrda, and I’m running to be the first Latina mayor of San Antonio.”
A practicing attorney, Cabello Havrda is finishing her third term as the District 6 council member. The West Side native is the chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee and serves on the Governance, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Municipal Court Advisory Committees.
First elected in 2019, Cabello Havrda developed a reputation early on as a soft-spoken councilwoman more focused on asking detailed questions than scoring political points.
Lately, though, she has been going on out on more limbs.
In September 2023, she suggested sending a large chunk of the city’s CPS Energy revenue back to the utility in an attempt to temper future rate hikes.
In May, she led a group of five council members in calling for a meeting to discuss the city attorney’s fitness for the job.
Most recently, she led a push for the city to dedicate funds specifically to help cover the travel costs of women seeking legal abortions outside of Texas.
She first confirmed to KSAT that she planned to run in December 2023. Her latest campaign finance report, covering the first half of 2024, shows $55,130 in available cash.
With her announcement Wednesday, she becomes the 16th candidate in a crowded mayoral field, which also includes two other council members, Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4) and Manny Pelaez (D8).
Another councilman, John Courage (D9), confirmed Monday he’s dropping out of the race.
Other candidates include former District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry, former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, and tech entrepreneur Beto Alatamirano.
Under a voter-approved change to the city charter, the mayor and council members elected in the May 2025 city election will serve four-year terms instead of the current two-year terms. They will still be limited to eight years in office in total.