Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4) is joining the crowded, open mayoral race.
She’s a Southwest High School alumna with a compelling personal story: The Rey Feo scholarship recipient went on to receive a doctorate from the University of Texas and worked her way to a City Council seat participating in various leadership programs put on by the local chambers of commerce.
But her path to the mayor’s office has always been viewed as a challenge: Her Southwest district has some of the city’s lowest voter turnout.
“It’s going to take someone that can really bring a collaborative spirit, and I feel like I can do that,” Rocha Garcia told the San Antonio Report.
She’s planning a formal campaign launch at a later date, but filed a document naming her campaign treasurer on Tuesday.
“I’m excited and ready to get to work listening to what people are looking for in a mayor,” she said. “I have clearly defined ideas where I would like San Antonio to go, but I need everybody’s input.”
Rocha Garcia was first elected in 2019, and had been considering seeking reelection to her council seat, where she still has two years of eligibility left.
But changes the council proposed last week could put her in an awkward reelection race, if voters approve a plan to move the council to four-year terms.
The change would go into effect after the 2025 municipal election, but Rocha Garcia would have to run for an abbreviated term, while other candidates running for the seat would be seeking a full four years.
She joins a field that includes other sitting council members, Manny Pelaez (D8) and John Courage (D9). Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6) is also considering running for mayor.
Compared to the rest of the group, Rocha Garcia hasn’t raised much money for the race. She brought in $1,950 in the first half of the year, spent $4,500 and reported $24,000 cash on hand as of June 30.
Her longtime political consultants, Viva Politics, are already working for Pelaez.
“My official campaign launch will be in November, because I’ve got to put together a team right now,” Rocha Garcia said.
In addition to serving on the council, she’s a marketing professor at Our Lady of the Lake University, and she previously chaired the city’s Ethics Review Board.
She’s worked as vice president for communications for the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a special projects manager and executive recruiter for the City of San Antonio and public relations director for Southwest ISD.