© 2024 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Weston Martinez Sticks To Conservative Values Message In Race For District 9

Ryan Loyd
/
TPR News
Weston Martinez is running his third campaign for San Antonio City Council.

The outspoken and conservative Weston Martinez wants San Antonio to enjoy its traditional values, he said during an interview about his candidacy for city council.

Martinez is aiming to capture the District 9 council seat that was vacated by Elisa Chan last year. She ran an ill-fated race for Texas Senate, losing to incumbent Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels.

It's not Martinez's first shot at the city council. He's attempted twice before. He thinks this time, however, he's got name recognition on his side. He's one of the main people who went after District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal after the passage of the city's new non-discrimination ordinance. Martinez and a vast array of other opponents set out to recall Bernal and all city council members who voted for the new law. That included everyone except District 2 Councilwoman Ivy Taylor, District 9's Elisa Chan and former Councilman Carlton Soules in District 10.

"People know that I've been engaged, that I've stayed engaged, that I do have a servant's heart," said Martinez.

The AT&T corporate engineer and others dropped the recall election campaign against the council in part because they wanted to focus their energy on gaining support for their cause with the next round of candidates for city council in 2015. But Martinez was looking to run for the District 9 seat in this year's special election.

He's got to convince voters to cast their favor in his direction and away from front runner Joe Krier, the man picked to fill the seat on an interim basis between Chan's departure and the election.

"Everyone that knows Joe [Krier] knows that he's liberal. They know that he's not as conservative as I am."

Martinez said he realizes that Krier's recognition reaches far and wide, but said the former Chamber of Commerce president agrees with many of Mayor Julián Castro's projects. Martinez said one recent vote for a teen contraceptive implant is a liberal idea that doesn't impact the number of people it should. Yet, he said, Krier supported it.

"Everyone that knows Joe knows that he's liberal. They know that he's not as conservative as I am," said Martinez.

Krier disagrees. During his interview about the race, just before he went to vote early, Krier defended his own conservative values and distanced himself from Castro.

"The mayor and I disagree on the streetcar project," said Krier. "He believes in it. I think we need a vote. The mayor and I agree to disagree on partisan politics. He's a very partisan Democrat. I've told him I'm a Republican. And we've agreed to disagree in an agreeable way."

Martinez maintains that Krier's record speaks for itself. On the teen pregnancy issue, Martinez asked, "They're going to spend $900,000 on 375 girls? I mean, you could do an abstinence program across the entire city and educate everyone."

"Traditional San Antonio values is what has continued to make San Antonio a great city. And it's what will continue to make us a great city but those values are under attack," said Martinez.

One idea Martinez said he has is for a water plan to capture clean water discharged into the San Antonio River.

He wants to pipe it north to the Edwards Aquifer recharge area.

"As San Antonio grows, we have an opportunity to continue to catch the water. Now we still send water downstream, but instead of going into stage three water restrictions in January, now we have more control, we'll actually know the quantity of water we have," he said.

Martinez faces retired Air Force Col. Bert Cecconi, small business owners Donald Oroian and Corey Clark, and interim councilman Krier.

Ryan Loyd was Texas Public Radio's city beat and political reporter. He left the organization in December, 2014.