Mayor gay

It’s trickier than it sounds.

Pablos said his economic development skills are an asset, but it’s unclear how his vision differs from what the city’s already doing.

Jones — who served as Under Secretary of the Air Force during the Biden Administration — beat Rolando Pablos, a former Texas Secretary of State aligned with Republican Gov.

Greg Abbott, 54%-46% in Saturday’s runoff election.

A two-time South Texas Democratic congressional candidate, Jones painted herself as a progressive eager to protect the Alamo City from the clutches of Abbott and President Donald Trump. She also promised to grow Pre-K for SA and expand broadband internet access in poor neighborhoods while showing a wariness about spending public funds on Project Marvel, the city’s proposed downtown sports-and-entertainment district.

“There’s a lot going on on the state level, a lot going on on the federal level, but we here are in San Antonio — deep in the heart of Texas — reminded folks what San Antonio stands for,” Jones told supporters at her election watch party at Dakota East Side Ice House.

"It will be a year of reflection, gratitude and reaffirming out commitment to never forget."

Mark Guerra to serve as interim commissioner for rest of 2025

The news of Bonsignore's appointment comes on the same day outgoing Mayor Eric Adams named First Deputy Commissioner Mark Guerra as fire commissioner. He has served in numerous capacities in several fire houses and has been cited for bravery on four separate occasions.

Later, Guerra served as the executive officer to former FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.

Guerra replaces FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker, who resigned after Mamdani was elected.

Jennifer Bisram contributed to this report.

"This appointment represents a significant responsibility, one I accept with humility, dedication, and a deep sense of commitment to the city and its people."

Bonsignore, a mother and wife, was born and raised in the Bronx. “I think ultimately, this a blue city, and we defaulted to a blue candidate for mayor.”

As mayor, Jones will have to deal with a $150 million budget deficit and the controversy around Project Marvel while tackling the city’s persistent issues such as generational poverty and its lagging education levels.

Jones, along with five new city council members, will be sworn in June 18.

During her watch party, Jones thanked a litany of progressive organizations ranging from the Texas Organizing Project to Vote Vets to San Antonio LGBTQ+ groups for getting out the vote.

“They had a really good mobilization effort, and they brought in a lot of organizations that are really good at getting people to the polls,” Taylor said. 

What’s more, anger about the Trump administration’s increasingly extreme immigration policies, combined with concerns about what some speculate is the homophobic killing of San Antonio actor Jonathan Joss, may have boosted Election Day turnout in Jones’ favor, Taylor speculated.

“Those issues came up late [and] I’m not sure they impacted all the voters, but it was definitely in the background,” he said.

The victory was historic, as Jones is not only San Antonio’s first out LGBTQ mayor but the first Asian-American female mayor of a major city in Texas and the first female mayor in Texas to have served in a war.

(She’s a former Air Force officer and Iraq War veteran who previously served as Under Secretary of the Air Force during the Biden administration.)

Jones is also the first mayor since 2005 to not have previously served on the city council and will serve a four-year term.

The race was watched closely by political operatives who saw the potential for the GOP to gain control of the mayor’s office for the first time in more than 20 years, citing Donald Trump’s electoral gains in last year’s presidential election, particularly among the city’s Hispanic residents.

Jones defeated former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, a Republican closely aligned with anti -LGBTQ Gov.

Greg Abbott, by a margin of 54.3% to 45.7%. Through campaign trainings, leadership programs, research and convenings, LGBTQ+ Victory Institute is the leading global organization seeking to grow and diversify the pipeline of LGBTQ+ public leaders.

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