Gina Ortiz Jones is the first gay leader of San Antonio

BY MAGGIE YAN

On June 7, 2025, Gina Ortiz was elected the mayor of San Antonio; she is the first openly gay leader of the city. She competed with Rolando Pablos, who was also fighting for this position, he is a 57 year old Mexican immigrant and a former Texas secretary of state.

Ms. Jones, 44 years old, won 27 percent of the vote to Mr. Pablos’s 17 percent.

Jones wanted to improve her campaign by expanding the early-childhood education, creating more affordable housing and jobs. She aims to help the 20 percent of people in the city living in poverty.

“I want to make sure that we are a city that is serving everybody,” Jones said in her speech, emphasizing her willingness to serve all citizens in her city.

This election is really important, because it could change how the Latino voters in participate. If they focus on the issues that really matter to them, mainly like education and jobs, so more of them might feel encouraged to vote, where there will be a larger impact. It was a test of Latino sentiment after the dramatic shift of Hispanic voters toward Donald J. Trump in 2024. Jones’s victory tells that Democratic values are still strong in a city that has long been a Democratic stronghold.

During her campaign, Jones talked about her parents, where her mom was named Victorina M. Ortiz, a retired educator, who immigrated from the Philippines in the 1970s and raised her and her sister by herself. She often shares her story about growing up and the lessons her mother taught her. On the other hand, her dad is a Vietnam veteran, which has not been a part of her life.

“She ran unsuccessfully for a congressional seat in South Texas in 2018 and 2020, before President Biden nominated her in 2021 to the second-highest-ranking civilian position in the Air Force,” the author Edgar Sandoval said.

Mr. Pablos, who had a relation to the Republican leaders in Texas, accepted his loss after saying, “We tried. It was a very tough race.”

Even when the election was not biased, the political ties were clear, with Jones receiving stronger support from local Democrats.

As the mayor, Jones faces challenges like the city’s poverty rate. Many people hope that her leadership will bring positive changes and help unite different communities.

Link to article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/07/us/gina-ortiz-jones-elected-san-antonio-mayor.html