At least one incumbent San Antonio councilmember will not be returning to his office. District 7’s Cris Medina lost the seat to Ana Sandoval in an upset, 36% to 51%. Sandoval plans to do things differently than Medina.
Forty one year old Sandoval, an environmental health consultant, says she’s going to be accessible as a councilmember. She says one of the biggest concerns she heard talking to voters is they couldn’t get a hold of Medina.
“The majority of District 7 voters are ready for some kind of change in our leadership,” Sandoval says. “And we’ve done a lot of work getting out there and listening to folks. A lot of my old friends, my new friends, the people I know in the San Antonio community have wanted to be part of this, either by helping or voting. I just think it shows people are ready for something new and not business as usual.”
Sandoval is an alumna of Harvard and Stanford and worked for VIA Metropolitan Transit. Medina leaves the council after three terms.
“We knew we were going to be in a tough race,” Medina says. “We just had a few votes that didn’t turn our way, but I’m very proud of the campaign we ran. Always positive. Always talked about the issues. Never attacked. At the end of the day, the voters spoke, and I respect the voters.”
Sandoval says her first priorities in office will be budget preparation and getting protocols in place so that phone calls and emails are returned.