San Antonio mayoral candidates to tackle key issues at forum at Tobin Center

KSAT.com will livestream forum beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday

SAN ANTONIO – Three of the primary candidates in the race for city of San Antonio mayor will take part in another key forum Thursday at the Tobin Center.

Mayor Ivy Taylor, District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Democratic Party Chairman Manuel Medina are scheduled to attend the forum, which is sponsored by the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Bexar County Medical Society, in partnership with KSAT 12.

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The three held a forum on Saturday where they discussed a variety of topics including the economy, work force development and sanctuary cities.

Taylor discussed what she called a ”business friendly" environment that specifically mentioned fewer regulations and addressing any issues with existing regulations.

Nirenberg spoke about investing in small business jobs and supporting local entrepreneurship.

Medina said his primary issue is taxes. He promised to create an "intergovernmental board" to address the issue of numerous taxing entities.

The candidates also spoke on Saturday about whether they would lead the city toward becoming a so-called sanctuary city.

San Antonio is not a sanctuary city and there is no formal definition of a sanctuary city.

SAPD officers do not ask about someone's immigration status. Taylor and Nirenberg both said police should focus on crime.

"I really want to focus on police officers doing their job to drive down the crime rate in San Antonio," Taylor said. “And that means every person who lives in San Antonio needs to feel comfortable and confident that they can approach the police."

Nirenberg said he trusted SAPD Chief William McManus far more than a politician in the Austin.

“When there are funding implications, we will tackle those. But right now, we are not going to have the governor of the state of Texas set local policy on keeping our streets and our neighborhoods safe," Nirenberg said.

Medina also commented on sanctuary cities. "Let me tell you what it is. It's protecting good people and deporting bad people. And 99.9 percent of immigrants are good people,” Medina said. “The .01 that are bad. We can deport them. We can agree with that." 

Taylor, Nirenberg and Medina are three of 14 candidates running for mayor.

KSAT.com will livestream the forum beginning at 7 p.m. and also feature Facebook Lives before and after the event with KSAT anchor Steve Spriester.

You can also follow KSAT’s social media channels for the latest on the forum.

The municipal election is May 6. Early voting is from April 24 to May 2.


About the Author:

RJ Marquez is the traffic anchor/reporter for KSAT’s Good Morning San Antonio. He also fills in as a news anchor and has covered stories from breaking news and Fiesta to Spurs championships and high school sports. RJ started at KSAT in 2010. He is proud to serve our viewers and be a part of the culture and community that makes San Antonio great.