Bravo Unseats Treviño in District 1 Runoff
June 5, 2021 - Downtown
Bravo Wins Runoff Election. Mario Bravo speaks with supporters in front of Backyard on Broadway, minutes after winning a runoff election against Roberto Treviño for the District 1 council seat. All Photos: Gaige Davila.
By Gaige Davila, Freelance Reporter | San Antonio Sentinel
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Mario Bravo has unseated three-term councilman Roberto Treviño, securing 53.58% (4,036) of the vote. Treviño trailed close behind at 46.42% (3,497).
- Treviño was seeking a fourth and final term on the dais, after a term where the councilman was at odds with the mayor, council members and, sometimes, his own constituents.
Mario Bravo has unseated three-term councilman Roberto Treviño, securing 53.58% (4,036) of the vote. Treviño trailed close behind at 46.42% (3,497).
“Thank you to the community of District 1, we have started our vision for our city,” Bravo told a crowd of supporters at his watch party at Backyard on Broadway. “A vision where everybody gets representation. I command to you that I will listen and that I will follow through on that commitment.”
Treviño, after all precincts reported votes, left his watch party at the Lonesome Rose around 9:15 p.m. without addressing the crowd. A staff member told the Sentinel that Treviño would issue a statement tomorrow morning regarding the election results when asked for comment.
Treviño was seeking a fourth and final term on the dais, after a term where the councilman was at odds with the mayor, council members and, sometimes, his own constituents. Treviño had opposed Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s Ready to Work initiative, saying it didn’t give immediate need to San Antonio residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News. Then in March, Nirenberg removed Treviño from overseeing the Alamo Plaza revitalization project.
Both candidates have campaigned on a progressive platform but differ on how to address homelessness, with Treviño leading several initiatives towards helping unhoused people, like the city’s mobile shower unit, during his six years in office. Bravo, along with residents of the Dellview neighborhood northwest of downtown, have criticized Treviño letting unhoused people sleep on the District 1 office grounds.
Bravo, a project manager for the Environmental Defense Fund, challenged Treviño in his second bid for San Antonio’s city council, the only candidate of six challengers to go to runoff. Bravo unsuccessfully ran for council in 2018.
Treviño nearly secured the 50% necessary to be re-elected during the May 1 general election, coming in with 45% of the vote. Bravo came behind him with 34% of the vote. This is the second time Treviño has been in a runoff election since being first elected to city council in 2014.
Both candidates have campaigned on a progressive platform but differ on how to address homelessness, with Treviño leading several initiatives towards helping unhoused people, like the city’s mobile shower unit, during his six years in office. Bravo has criticized Treviño letting unhoused people sleep at the District 1 office grounds in the Dellview neighborhood northwest of downtown.
Treviño raised $63,190 during his runoff campaign, spending $48,214.44, according to campaign finance reports. Bravo, during the runoff period, raised less than a third of Treviño’s total, with $14,828.28. Bravo spent more than he received in that time, with $26,705.59. In all, nearly $600K has been raised and spent by candidates in this year’s council elections, according to a report by the San Antonio Express-News.
Nearly 40,000 votes were cast during the runoff election, with most casted during the early voting period.
Gaige Davila is the editor of the Port Isabel-South Padre Press and South Padre Parade magazine based in Port Isabel, Texas. He is a freelance writer for the San Antonio Heron and the San Antonio Sentinel.