Ron Nirenberg

Ron Nirenberg

Mayor of San Antonio

Tenure

2017 - Present

Term ends

2025

Years in position

7

Predecessor

Ivy R. Taylor

Prior offices

San Antonio City Council District 8

Successor: Manny Pelaez

Predecessor: Reed Williams

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

May 6, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

Trinity University

Graduate

University of Pennsylvania

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

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Personal website

Personal LinkedIn

Ron Nirenberg is the Mayor of San Antonio in Texas. He assumed office on June 21, 2017. His current term ends in 2025.

Nirenberg ran for re-election for Mayor of San Antonio in Texas. He won in the general election on May 6, 2023.

Nirenberg received a bachelor’s degree from Trinity University and a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He worked as the general manager of KRTU-FM, Trinity University’s non-commercial radio station, and as a former program director for the Annenberg Public Policy Center. Nirenberg also founded two small businesses.

Nirenberg represented District 8 on the San Antonio City Council for two terms from 2013 to 2017. During his tenure on the city council, Nirenberg’s priorities included “smart city and regional planning, inclusive economic development, environmental stewardship, fiscal responsibility and governmental accountability.”

In 2017 Nirenberg ran for Mayor of San Antonio. In the general runoff election, he defeated incumbent Ivy R. Taylor, 54.6% to 45.4%. This was the first time in 20 years that a challenger defeated an incumbent in a San Antonio mayoral election. At the time of the election, he said his top priority was “restoring public trust so that all residents are confident that their representatives are working in their best interests.”

While Nirenberg's 2017 mayoral election was officially nonpartisan, Nirenberg said he identified as an independent. In 2017, while describing his political philosophy, Nirenberg said, “I believe in responsive, equitable and limited government. I am driven by the values of fairness and transparency, and I believe that government should work for the interests of all residents. “On September 14, 2024, The San Antonio Express-News reported that Nirenberg had announced he was a Democrat.

Nirenberg won re-election for a second and final term in 2023 due to term limits. At the time of his 2023 re-election campaign, Nirenberg said, “My hope and my work over the last 10 years — being on City Council and now as mayor — has been to make sure that we are living up to our promise. It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you live in this city, the circumstances you come from, that you have an opportunity to thrive.”

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Nirenberg was born on April 11, 1977. He obtained a B.A. from Trinity University (1999) and an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania (2001), both in communications. His professional experience includes working as the general manager of KRTU-FM, Trinity University’s non-commercial radio station, and as a former program director for the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Nirenberg described his political philosophy to Ballotpedia. Click [show] on the right to read his statement.

“ I believe in responsive, equitable and limited government. I am driven by the values of fairness and transparency, and I believe that government should work for the interests of all residents. Every decision we make should be measured by three things: 1. Is it fiscally responsible? (Does it properly balance the short term needs of our residents with the long term necessities of our community? Can it be accomplished more efficiently, effectively and fairly by the private sector? Our quality of life depends on harnessing positive and balanced growth throughout San Antonio while keeping taxes and fees affordable.) 2. Is it fair and ethical? (Has the process been transparent, objective, and free from special interests? Have all stakeholders and neighbors been given an opportunity to weigh in? Will it advance the interests of the average citizen of San Antonio? City leaders should not be in the business of picking winners and losers, and, as a top priority, every public official should avoid even the appearance of conflicts of interest.) 3. Have we done our homework? (Have we truly listened to the concerns of our neighbors and are the conclusions we’ve reached consistent with those conversations? Has any important information been left out? Every action taken by elected leaders should be measured and restrained for the betterment of our community – all relevant facts should be considered, checked, and checked again.) ” —Ron Nirenberg (April 18, 2017)

Elections

2025

See also: Mayoral election in San Antonio, Texas (2025)

Ron Nirenberg was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.

2023

See also: Mayoral election in San Antonio, Texas (2023)

General election

General election for Mayor of San Antonio

The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of San Antonio on May 6, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ron Nirenberg (Nonpartisan)	60.7	83,238
		Christopher Schuchardt (Nonpartisan)	21.9	30,011
		Gary Allen (Nonpartisan)	6.2	8,462
	Submit photo	Michael Samaniego (Nonpartisan)	3.3	4,529
	Submit photo	Diana Uriegas (Nonpartisan)	3.0	4,061
		Christopher Longoria (Nonpartisan)	2.3	3,115
	Submit photo	Ray Adam Basaldua (Nonpartisan)	1.5	2,123
	Submit photo	Armando Dominguez (Nonpartisan)	0.7	965
		Michael Idrogo (Nonpartisan)	0.4	535

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 137,039
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2021

See also: Mayoral election in San Antonio, Texas (2021)

General election

General election for Mayor of San Antonio

The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of San Antonio on May 1, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ron Nirenberg (Nonpartisan)	61.9	92,156
		Greg Brockhouse (Nonpartisan)	31.5	46,829
		Denise Gutierrez (Nonpartisan)	1.8	2,711
		Gary Allen (Nonpartisan)	1.4	2,049
		Antonio Diaz (Nonpartisan)	0.9	1,358
		Tim Atwood (Nonpartisan)	0.5	786
	Submit photo	Jacq'ue Miller (Nonpartisan)	0.5	703
	Submit photo	Ray Adam Basaldua (Nonpartisan)	0.4	631
		Michael Idrogo (Nonpartisan)	0.3	406
		John Velasquez (Nonpartisan)	0.2	340
	Submit photo	Dan Martinez (Nonpartisan)	0.2	334
	Submit photo	Frank Muniz (Nonpartisan)	0.1	208
	Submit photo	Justin Macaluso (Nonpartisan)	0.1	207
	Submit photo	Joshua Galvan (Nonpartisan)	0.1	172

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 148,890
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2019

See also: Mayoral election in San Antonio, Texas (2019)

General runoff election

General runoff election for Mayor of San Antonio

Incumbent Ron Nirenberg defeated Greg Brockhouse in the general runoff election for Mayor of San Antonio on June 8, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ron Nirenberg (Nonpartisan)	51.1	61,741
		Greg Brockhouse (Nonpartisan)	48.9	59,051

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 120,792
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

General election for Mayor of San Antonio

The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of San Antonio on May 4, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ron Nirenberg (Nonpartisan)	48.7	49,579
✔		Greg Brockhouse (Nonpartisan)	45.6	46,414
		John Velasquez (Nonpartisan)	1.6	1,644
		Antonio Diaz (Nonpartisan)	1.1	1,104
		Tim Atwood (Nonpartisan)	1.0	1,026
		Matthew Piña (Nonpartisan)	0.7	762
	Submit photo	Bert Cecconi (Nonpartisan)	0.6	573
		Michael Idrogo (Nonpartisan)	0.4	434
	Submit photo	Carlos Castanuela (Nonpartisan)	0.3	330

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 101,866
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2017

See also: Municipal elections in San Antonio, Texas (2017)

Runoff

The city of San Antonio, Texas, held runoff elections for mayor and six of its 10 city council seats on June 10, 2017. Ron Nirenberg defeated incumbent Ivy R. Taylor in the runoff election for mayor of San Antonio.

Mayor of San Antonio, Runoff Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ron Nirenberg	54.60%	54,020
Ivy R. Taylor Incumbent	45.40%	44,922
Total Votes		98,942
Source: Bexar County, Texas, "June 10, 2017 Media Report," June 22, 2017

General

The city of San Antonio, Texas, held general elections for mayor and all 10 of its city council seats on May 6, 2017. Candidates had to earn a majority of the votes cast in this election to win. Any race where no candidate received a majority (50 percent plus one) of the general election votes cast for that position advanced to a runoff election on June 10, 2017. The following candidates ran in the general election for mayor of San Antonio.

Mayor of San Antonio, General Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ivy R. Taylor Incumbent	42.01%	41,794
Ron Nirenberg	37.08%	36,890
Juan Manuel Medina	15.13%	15,049
Keven Roles	1.57%	1,557
Antonio Diaz	0.97%	966
Will McLeod	0.55%	545
Felicio Hernandez Flores II	0.43%	429
John Velasquez	0.39%	383
Gerard Ponce	0.37%	366
Michael Idrogo	0.37%	366
Rhett Rosenquest Smith	0.32%	321
Stephen Lucke	0.32%	315
Julie Iris Oldham	0.27%	270
Napoleon Madrid	0.23%	225
Total Votes		99,476
Source: Bexar County, Texas, "May 6, 2017 Media Report," May 18, 2017

Endorsements

On May 13, 2017, former Mayor Julián Castro endorsed Nirenberg.

Click [show] on the right for information about other elections in which this candidate ran.

2015 See also: San Antonio, Texas municipal elections, 2015 The city of San Antonio, Texas, held elections for mayor and city council on May 9, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was February 27, 2015. All 10 city council seats were up for election. In District 8, incumbent Ron Nirenberg defeated Adam I. Goodman, Yvonne Martinez, and Robert L. Meeks . San Antonio City Council, District 8, 2015 Candidate Vote % Votes Ron Nirenberg Incumbent 72.5% 7,093 Yvonne Martinez 17.7% 1,730 Robert L. Meeks 5.5% 540 Adam I. Goodman 4.3% 420 Total Votes 9,783 Source: Bexar County Elections, "Official general election results," accessed May 28, 2015

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ron Nirenberg did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Ron Nirenberg did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ron Nirenberg did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

2017

See also: Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey

Nirenberg participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	Restoring public trust so that all residents are confident that their representatives are working in their best interests.	”
—Ron Nirenberg (April 18, 2017)

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important: city services (trash, utilities, etc.), civil rights, crime reduction/prevention, environment, government transparency, homelessness, housing, K-12 education, public pensions/retirement funds, recreational opportunities, transportation, and unemployment. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important.

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue	Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Transportation	7	Unemployment
2	Housing	8	Government transparency
3	Crime reduction/prevention	9	Civil rights
4	No item ranked at this value by the candidate.	10	Homelessness
5	Environment	11	Recreational opportunities
6	K-12 education	12	Public pensions/retirement funds

Local topics

Ballotpedia asked candidates specific questions regarding recent issues in the city. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column.

Question	Response
What is your stance on the Vista Ridge water pipeline project?	At present, the Vista Ridge project is no longer meeting the criteria I set for it before the contract was changed without City Council approval. Unless SAWS can meet the conservation, transparency, regional responsibility, and fiscal responsibility standards that I set for it during the only vote that was taken for the project - in October 2014 – I will not support the project as mayor.
What policies should the city of San Antonio have regarding possession and use of marijuana?	We should first work with our state delegation to expand the list of legal compassionate uses for medical marijuana in Texas, while we also examine the results from other jurisdictions regarding the treatment and enforcement of marijuana possession laws.
How should San Antonio’s government respond if the state legislature preempts the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance?	We should continue to vigorously establish and enforce nondiscrimination policies in the city of San Antonio.
Should local law enforcement in San Antonio consider immigration status in interactions with individuals? If yes, in what ways should that status be considered?	No.

Nationwide municipal issues

The candidate was asked to answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions.

Question	Response
Is it important for the city’s budget to be balanced?Answer options: Not important; Not important, but required by state law; A little important; A little important, but required by state law; Important; Very important	Very important
Which level of government do you feel should set a minimum wage?Answer options: None, Local, State, Federal	Federal
What do you think is the best way to improve a city’s public safety? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Increased economic opportunities, Increased police presence/activity, Harsher penalties for offenders, Public outreach/education programs	Increased economic opportunities. We must grow the department in a fiscally responsible way while focusing on restoring equity throughout our community.
How do you think your city should emphasize economic development? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Changing zoning restrictions, Create a more competitive business climate, Focusing on small business development, Instituting a citywide minimum wage, Recruiting new businesses to your city, Regulatory and licensing reforms, and tax reform	Focusing on small business development. Encourage and support the work of our small business and entrepreneurship communities while mobilizing successful business leaders to promote San Antonio to the world (instead of bureaucrats selling our city on tax incentives and abatement).
What is the one thing you’re most proud of about your city?	The diversity, heritage and compassion of our neighbors.
What is the one thing you’d most like to change about your city?	We need to build a modern transportation system that gets you out of gridlock and keeps our economy moving.

Nirenberg added to his survey response:

“	I'm running for mayor because I want you to have the city you deserve - a place you’d choose even if you could live anywhere else on earth. It should be an exciting place where all sides of town can say. 'I love it here.' The way I see it, the city you deserve delivers good-paying jobs, rewarding careers, safe streets, beautiful parks, museums, clean water, fewer traffic jams … It should be a place where our children flourish. You deserve a city that listens to you, that treats you with respect, that spends your tax dollars responsibly and openly. You deserve a city whose leaders are ethical and accountable and a mayor who has a vision for a bright and successful future. These are all things I've fought for as District 8 Councilman. These are things you shouldn’t have to wait any longer for.	”
—Ron Nirenberg (April 18, 2017)

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Campaign finance

2017

The table below lists campaign finance totals for the mayoral candidates as of reports available from the city of San Antonio following the May 3 filing deadline.

Noteworthy events

Events and activity following the death of George Floyd

See also: Events following the death of George Floyd and responses in select cities from May 29-31, 2020

Nirenberg was mayor of San Antonio during the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, when events and activity took place in cities across the U.S. following the death of George Floyd. Events in San Antonio, Texas began on Saturday, May 30, 2020, at Travis Park. The same day, Mayor Ron Nirenberg (NP) issued a curfew. On May 30, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced that he had activated the Texas National Guard. The following day, he declared an emergency and announced that national guard members and state troopers had been sent to the city.

To read more about the death of George Floyd and subsequent events, click [show] to the right.

On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers arrested Floyd, a Black man, after receiving a call that he had made a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd died after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, arrived at the scene and pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck as Floyd laid face-down on the street in handcuffs. Both the Hennepin County Medical Examiner and an independent autopsy conducted by Floyd's family ruled Floyd's death as a homicide stemming from the incident. The medical examiner's report, prepared by Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, said that it was "not a legal determination of culpability or intent, and should not be used to usurp the judicial process." On April 20, 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in relation to Floyd's death. Floyd's death was filmed and shared widely, leading to activity regarding racism, civil rights, and police use of force. The first events took place in Minneapolis-St. Paul on May 26. An event in Chicago organized by Chance the Rapper and Rev. Michael Pfleger took place the same day, making it the first major city outside of Minneapolis to host an event in response to Floyd's death.

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable candidate endorsements by Ron Nirenberg

Endorsee	Election	Stage	Outcome
Julián Castro  source	President of the United States (2020)		Withdrew in Convention

Notable ballot measure endorsements by Ron Nirenberg

Measure	Position	Outcome
San Antonio, Texas, Proposition A, Law Enforcement on Abortion, Marijuana, and Police Actions Charter Amendment (May 2023)  source	Oppose	Defeated

See also

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Ivy R. Taylor	Mayor of San Antonio 2017-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Reed Williams	San Antonio City Council District 8 2013-2017	Succeeded by Manny Pelaez

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