District 6 Councilmember Ric Galvan hosted Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ fourth town hall meeting at John Jay High School. At her first public forum appearance since the approval of Proposition B, she addressed downtown revitalization, next steps for flood infrastructure, economic priorities and the current fiscal situation.
Acknowledging the vote as an exciting time to fund downtown revitalization projects, Jones emphasized how this could be used for residents of the area. The allotted funds would be directed to the east side of San Antonio’s downtown area. Jones explained that the goal for the revitalization efforts should make the area more livable and affordable.
“If you’ve got a downtown that residents can’t afford to go to, you don’t have a downtown. You have an amusement park,” she said.
Jones views the proposed Spurs Arena as one interconnected project, including multiple developments. The key points she hopes the project considers are walkability, senior housing and green space.
Jones then addressed the prioritized list of flood projects that are still in progress or pending state government funding. She noted that the 2027 bond is expected to be smaller than initially projected, making the priority of these projects more critical.
“The state’s flood plan has 14 projects in San Antonio on that very long list of projects. 14 projects are currently scoped for $411 million. The reason it was really important that our delegation speak with one voice and advocate for San Antonio is because only four of those projects were in the top 100,” she explained.
Jones further addressed the $150 million budget gap for FY27 with residents. As a daughter of a single mother who attended John Jay High School, she expressed how it is essential to primarily care for San Antonio’s community.
“We may in fact need to make changes to our budget that will in fact impact the most vulnerable in our community who are themselves going to have less money in their pocket as a result of those federal changes,” Jones said.
Although the government shutdown has ended, its impacts still linger. City officials, alongside Jones, took the initiative in raising funds for residents impacted by frozen Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. About $1.6 million was raised to distribute $150 HEB gift cards to SNAP recipients.
“This was just a bridge as we can help the most vulnerable in our community get through a very difficult time,” Jones said.
By investing in Pre-K and supporting public education, San Antonio can be better represented in the nation, she explained. She talked about reinforcing the investment in public education as a national security and economic competitiveness issue as well.
“I saw from my own time at the Pentagon that San Antonio has a unique role to play when it comes to national security,” Jones explained. “The number one reason why somebody will serve in the military is because they know somebody who has served. That makes Bexar County very special in that way. The vast majority of kids that serve in the military, they come from like 25 counties, and Bexar County is one of them. So if we are not raising enough healthy kids, enough academically prepared kids, it is in fact a national security issue.”
After covering the town hall meeting’s agenda, Jones and Galvan answered questions from attendees to conclude the meeting.
