SAN ANTONIO – Despite being one of the better-known candidates, Gina Ortiz Jones is still an outsider choice in the San Antonio mayor’s race.
Ortiz Jones has been one of the top fundraisers and had the highest support of any mayoral candidate in a recent UTSA poll of likely voters. However, her public footprint so far has been on the state and federal levels.
The John Jay High School graduate is a former U.S. Air Force officer who also served as Undersecretary of the Air Force under former President Joe Biden. She also ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for Texas' 23rd Congressional District in 2018 and 2020.
Jones also founded the Find Out PAC before the November 2024 election, which aimed to unseat three Republican Texas Supreme Court Justices.
Ortiz Jones spoke with KSAT in a one-on-one interview about her shift to local politics to run for mayor.
“I’m very proud of my leadership and my manager management experience, and I look forward to bringing that in service to my community."
"I think, look, when you — having led a 600,000-person organization, having managed a $173 billion organization, I would argue I bring the most leadership and management experience to this position."
On her website, Jones promotes a 100-day plan that includes ideas for early education and childcare, increasing high-speed internet connectivity, and improving affordable housing.
“I want to work with the team — that’s the rest of the city council and the city staff — and say, ‘How can we go faster on a certain kind of project?’“ Jones said. ”Those projects that are 70% to 100% affordable, that co-locate child care, and that help us meet our transit-oriented objectives. How can we move faster on those things?"
Jones also wants to improve outcomes on the city’s job-training program, Ready to Work.
The city’s goal is for 80% of participants to be placed in a quality job within six months of finishing their training. However, according to a city dashboard, the placement rate is only 55% within six months and 73% within one year.
Jones believes the goal should be placing 90% of graduates within 90 days. However, she did not provide many specifics on how to meet that higher bar beyond ensuring the training matches community needs.
“My assessment is based on the data that is currently available on the website,” Jones said when pressed. “I look forward to reviewing other pieces of information that might not be publicly available that would show us what is contributing to 75%”
Jones also discussed getting a “good deal” on Project Marvel, handling the uncertainty in Washington, D.C., and what she thinks should be in the city’s next bond program.
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