Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
San Antonio’s Northwest Side remained without a councilperson-elect on Saturday night after none of the six candidates for District 8 secured enough votes to win outright.
Ivalis Meza Gonzalez will face off against Paula McGee in a June 7 runoff.
The seat vacated by Manny Pelaez, who held it for eight years, was one of several this cycle without an incumbent.
The district is one of San Antonio’s most densely populated, and it hosts several major employers including USAA, UTSA’s main campus and several hospitals making up the Medical Center.
Meza Gonzalez led the race by more than 20 percentage points, with 43% of the vote.
She was the favorite in the race, boasting significant city hall experience, working for current Mayor Ron Nirenberg and several prominent endorsements, including, among others, Nirenberg, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, the San Antonio Express-News, as well as public safety and other unions.
Both candidates campaigned on some combination of improving infrastructure, public safety and access to public services.
“It’s about experience,” Meza Gonzalez said. “I don't think District 8 can wait for on the job training. I think it's about getting to work on day one. I have that experience.”
While Meza Gonzalez is leaning into her institutional knowledge, McGee is leaning the opposite direction.
“I am an outsider. I'm not a politician. I'm a fresh perspective for city leadership,” McGee said. “I think people are looking for something different from down at City Hall.”
McGee won the second spot by a sliver, eking out the slot by less than 100 votes. She is an attorney who has served on San Antonio’s Zoning Commission and the Ethics Commission.
