Saturday was Election Day for San Antonio
On the ballot were the race for mayor and the ten city council seats. There was also Proposition A, also known as the Justice Charter, which included a grab-bag of issue items including decriminalizing abortion and low-level marijuana possession, banning no-knock warrants and chokeholds by law enforcement, creating a “justice director” job at City Hall and requiring police to issue citations for certain low-level, nonviolent offenses instead of making arrests.
The cite and release portion of the prop may have been a bridge too far for the supporters.
It was the issue that opponents zeroed in on and demonized by claiming it would turn San Antonio into San Francisco, meaning there would be rampant and out-of-control crime.
The well-funded campaign against Prop A, which was led by the San Antonio Police Officers Association, aired television political ads and sent out mailers while Act4SA, the grassroots organization that put Prop A on the ballot, struggled to get their message out.
Prop A lost with 72% of voters going against it.
What can we learn about San Antonio voters from this result? Will the progressive organizers learn from this debacle? How will the right wing use this loss to frame their talking points about abortion support in San Antonio?
Guest:
Sanford Nowlin, executive editor of the San Antonio Current
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*This interview will be recorded on Monday. May 8
