Monday Musings #34: Mayor Jones’ Combative First 100 Days

Gina Ortiz Jones was sworn in as mayor of San Antonio on June 18, 2025 after one of the most ridiculous campaigns in city history with a clown car total of 27 candidates on the ballot, at least 20 of them lacking credibility. Jones, a Democrat, finished first in the first round of voting and won convincingly in the June 7 runoff against attorney Rolando Pablos, a Republican in a nonpartisan contest that was anything but nonpartisan.

It was only the second time in the modern era that voters elected a mayor who had not served first on City Council. The first was the election of attorney and former appeals court judge Phil Hardberger who held the office from 2005-2009 in an era of harsher term limits. His success in the office has many of us yearning for the good ol’ days.

After she took office, Jones announced in an email to staff that going forward she wanted to be addressed as “Mayor Jones,” dropping Ortiz, her mother’s maiden name for reasons never made clear. As a Filipino-American, Ortiz Jones certainly had the right to use her matronymic during the campaign, even if, as Pablos charged, it confused some voters who assumed she was Mexican-American in a city with a Hispanic majority.

Still, the quick ejection of the name from her profile raised questions. Was it just a campaign convenience? And why instruct the city’s thousands of employees to refer to her as "Mayor Jones,” even when she was not present for the conversation?

San Antonio, as my weekly podcast prominently declares, is a big city, small town. When I moved back to Texas after years working overseas, Lila was mayor. That was 1989, right after Henry ended his eight-year term. She was succeeded by Nelson. I won’t name all the mayors I have watched in my years living and working as a journalist in San Antonio, but others need no introduction: Julían, Phil, Ron…

You get the point. San Antonians don’t lean on formalities. We are a city that has flown six flags, and more than any other major U.S. city within a few hours drive of the Mexican border, ambiante familiar is a distinctly defining characteristic. You do not have to be bilingual to appreciate what those two words imply. The literal translation might mean “family environment,” but the colloquial meaning is that we are a city of friendly and comfortable informality. 

Dallas or Houston might be suit and tie cities. San Antonio is garbed in a colorful guayabera. (Please learn to pronounce the word by not saying ‘guy-a-ber-a’ which is jarring to the ear.)

I raise the name issuer now because I believe it is emblematic of larger issues plaguing Mayor Jones’ first 100 days in office. She seems a bit misguided about the power and authority of the office. San Antonio’s cultural preference for Informality is not a sign of disrespect, mayor. You would be seen as a more approachable officeholder and leader if you marked the next 100 days by inviting staff, fellow council members and the media and public to call you Gina. 

Hit the reset button, as I and others have previously advised,  on your very rocky start to a four-year term in office that to date has given some of us who voted for charter reforms extending mayoral and council terms from two to four years a bit of buyer’s remorse.

Buy a couple of jerseys. One from the San Antonio Missions, another from the San Antonio Spurs. Make it a point to attend a game or two at the Frost Bank Center in the coming months, and let baseball fans know they’ll see you at Wolff Stadium next spring throwing out the first pitch. Show us your changeup. Give Nelson a run for his money.

Most importantly, start walking around City Hall and dropping by council member offices to informally connect with your colleagues and their senior staffers. Staff people tell me they are walking on eggshells and feel a bit demoralized by the tension you have introduced to the workplace.

A good start would be asking council members how to build a credible, stable staff that can help you navigate municipal government and politics. You have failed on this front, leaving the impression that people can’t or don’t want to work with you.

I am not going to revisit all of the mayor’s unmet campaign promises. I think San Antonio Express-News local government reporter Molly Smith already did a really good job on that front in her Sunday story. It speaks volumes to me that the only outside entities cited in Smith’s article with favorable impressions of Jones' opening months in office were the Texas Organizing Project and the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center.

To be effective, a San Antonio mayor has to govern from the center. Understanding that San Antonio is one of the largest U.S. cities with a city manager form of government is essential to success. The mayor’s power is soft, and thus highly dependent on collaboration with fellow council members, who have the same voting power as the mayor.

Internally, the mayor must see City Manager Erik Walsh and his senior team as the people implementing policy and getting things done. They are not order takers. Externally, a mayor needs to project competence, selflessness, and a personality open to all citizens and constituencies.

It’s a serious balancing act, one many of us are not cut out for, especially at a salary a touch below $100,000. Yes, that’s significantly more than the median salary in San Antonio, but no one is looking for an average person to lead the city. Voters expect exceptionalism, a mayor capable of laying out a vision and delivering.

Mayor Jones has floundered in her first 100 days: getting humiliated by council votes rejecting her failed power plays, using the dais to bicker with colleagues, acting like a bully at a press conference organized by chamber leaders, and unsuccessfully trying to stop or slow initiatives that were undertaken prior to her election, including the city’s negotiations to bring the Spurs back to Hemisfair.

Start over, Mayor Jones. The first week might be a hard one, but the rest of your four-year term will be far more productive and meaningful if you do. In time, the first 100 days will be old news.