SAN ANTONIO – Mayor Ron Nirenberg told the crowd at a chamber of commerce-hosted luncheon Tuesday it would be “a while” before the “report card” on his run as mayor comes out.
But that didn’t stop him from defending some of his legacy already.
Nirenberg will leave office in June 2025, forced out by an eight-year term limit. In a “fireside chat” with North San Antonio Chamber President Brett Finley, Nirenberg reflected on some of the chief issues from his tenure as San Antonio’s mayor: housing, workforce development, the global pandemic, the expansion of the city’s airport, and the sweeping “Project Marvel” the city just unveiled.
‘If we don’t, we should just stop talking about it'
When it came to one of the signature programs of his administration, Ready to Work, Nirenberg’s comments took on an edge.
“And we know in San Antonio we have made a pastime about talking about poverty. Not that any of us like it. But if we’re going to do more than just talk about poverty, one would think we would want to do something about it. And so that’s what’s happening with Ready to Work,” he said. “It’s also what’s happening in housing and transportation.”
Ready to Work was a big swing for Nirenberg, which required getting voter approval in November 2020 to divert a 1/8 cent sales tax for four years to fund the job-training program.
However, the dream first presented to voters in the midst of the pandemic has been scaled back.
Estimates for the program ahead of the 2020 election focused on 10,000 people getting training every year of the four-year program, for a total of “up to 40,000″ people served.
But after voters had approved the plan, the city presented a different picture: 39,000 people interviewed, 28,000 enrolled in approved training, and 15,600 placed in quality jobs.
Enrollment then got off to a slower start than anticipated, though officials said the long-term goals remained the same.
As of Tuesday, two-and-a-half years after the city announced enrollment was open, fewer than 9,500 people had been signed up - most of whom are still in the training pipeline.
Of the 2,748 who had completed their training program, 1,619 had been placed in an approved job.
Nirenberg highlighted several of the latest statistics and described the average participant as a woman of color, raising multiple children in a household earning less than $14,000 per year.
“Workforce development and education is going to be intensive work for every step that we go through,” he said. “And I‘m just proud that this city has supported it. We’re going to continue to stay after it. And if we’re willing to do that, then we can sincerely talk about wanting to end poverty in this city. If we don’t, we should just stop talking about it."
‘We need to grow up a little bit about that way of thinking’
City officials publicly presented expansive plans to develop the area around Hemisfair on Nov. 21, including a new Spurs arena.
The plans still lack numerous details, including any firm price tag beyond an estimated “billions.”
Staff have said they plan to bring the different elements of the plan to the city council piece-by-piece as they fall into place. The mayor said Tuesday the city has to “dare to dream big” to achieve the plan.
“I can list a hundred ways this could go sideways, but we’ve got to get it out there,” he said.
While big questions on funding the project remain, the mayor said he believes “the ingredients are there to be successful.
“If we get dogged by the naysayers or by the folks that say, you know...‘It’s impossible,' or ‘how dare you,’ or something like that, then we might as well not even start. But I know that that’s not this city," Nirenberg said.
As his chat with Finley turned to the ongoing project to expand the airport, Nirenberg defended tackling big projects and big problems simultaneously.
“It’s not that we’re building airports and we’re thinking about Project Marvel in expense of housing, and transportation, and workforce, and education. It’s, in fact, because of that. We’ve already done that. We are doing that,” Nirenberg said. “And unless we are going to be a city that waits around forever to do the nice things because we haven’t completed the important things, the fundamental things, we’re never going to get past where we are today.”
The mayor went on to say the city will never hang a “Mission Accomplished” banner in the pursuit of housing, transportation, education, and workforce development.
"So if somebody out there says, ‘we’ve got to do that first before we get to downtown’ or ‘before we get to the airport,’ then that’s a game we can’t play. So we need to grow up a little bit about that way of thinking."
‘We can’t get daunted'
Speaking with reporters after his appearance at the luncheon, Nirenberg denied feeling defensive.
“I wouldn’t say that. It’s...just a constant reminder that the important work of the city that we have to do to lift people and to provide economic mobility pathways to, you know, prosperity for everyone in our city is hard work. And so we can’t get daunted by the challenges. We can’t get daunted by the obstacles. We have to be willing to overcome them,” he said.
‘Haven’t heard the last of me'
Nirenberg served a pair of two-year terms as the District 8 councilman before beating incumbent Ivy Taylor for the mayor’s seat in 2017.
Fourteen people have launched campaigns to replace him, including two council members, Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4) and Manny Pelaez (D8). A third council member, Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6), is expected to jump in.
Councilman John Courage (D9) had also been vying to replace Nirenberg, but he confirmed Monday he is dropping out of the race, citing concerns about his age and health.
Nirenberg said he does not have any plans for life after the mayor’s office and is “not in any urgent rush to figure it out.”
The mayor did say he wants to stay in public service.
“I hope you haven’t heard the last of me, and I’m confident that you haven’t,” Nirenberg said.