Newly elected city councilwomen looking forward to serving districts

For second time in San Antonio history, women will be majority on City Council

SAN ANTONIO – For the second time in San Antonio history, women will be the majority on the City Council.

Three women who were elected in the runoff election Saturday will join three female counterparts on the dais compared to four men.

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"It's about darn time. Don't you think?" Mayor Ron Nirenberg said to a crowd of his supporters Saturday about the changing face of the council.

The newly elected female members said they are looking forward to being a part of the new council and serving their communities.

"Having a majority women's council speaks to the thought process to what the city of San Antonio is looking for," said Jada Andrews-Sullivan, who was elected to represent District 2. "That stability and a forward-thinking mindset." "It's a great opportunity," said Adriana Rocha-Garcia, who will represent District 4. "The excitement, you can feel it. We've been in training since yesterday, and we've already started having a lot of ideas and having a lot of positive conversation."

"I think that we're going to be able to collaborate and reach consensus," said Melissa Cabello-Havrda, who will represent District 6. "I'm just excited to be a part of it. I think that this shows that our city is very forward-thinking, and although maybe it shouldn't be one of the few times that it's happened, hopefully, it's going to be the new normal."

Some of the veteran women council members are also excited about the change.

"I think that this is going to be a change for the city because it's going be representative of the population of our city," said District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran. "Fifty-one percent of our population is female. So, it should be a majority female on the San Antonio City Council, and I'm very proud that they're all women of color. So we're going to have a distinct voice and a distinct perspective when we're looking at the policies."      "I think it's tremendous," said District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval. "I think it's great. I wish it wasn't big news, you know. Like a council could be majority women at any point, but I'm glad it's happened. I think it means we have a lot of possibilities. So I'm really excited about it."

The new council will be sworn into office June 19.


About the Author:

Stephanie Serna is a weekday anchor on Good Morning San Antonio and GMSA at 9 a.m. She joined the KSAT 12 News team in November 2009 as a general assignments reporter.