SAN ANTONIO — The latest debate featuring the top two contenders in San Antonio’s mayoral race took place Monday inside the Texas Public Radio studios.
- Mayor Ron Nirenberg running against City Councilor Greg Brockhouse
- Early voting begins Monday, April 22
- Election Day is Saturday, May 4
Some of the topics discussed were public safety, rising home appraisals, infrastructure upgrades and water conservation.
"Today in San Antonio we're using the same amount of water as a community as a whole as we did 25 years ago," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.
District 6 Council Member Greg Brockhouse said, the average San Antonio taxpayer is willing to support measures to fund sidewalks, streets and drainage.
"I think people will invest in streets and sidewalks. If I went to them and said, ‘Hey look, this is going to require this bond or this additional bond.’ I'm willing to bet citizens would say yes to that," Brockhouse said.
Monday’s debate is the latest in several held around the Alamo City leading up to the May election. Nirenberg and Brockhouse hashed out several issues, including the ongoing collective bargaining meetings underway between city officials and the San Antonio Fire Union.
"We can't simply give the fire union a more lucrative contract and expect there's going to be resources available to do stronger and faster street improvements," Nirenberg said.
RELATED: Mayor Ron Nirenberg Says “San Antonio Stronger Than Ever”
Brockhouse has the support of the fire and police unions, and he said there’s a need to add more police officers to city streets.
"The sadder conversation is that we're not short 180 peace officers,” Brockhouse said. “We're actually far short than the 180, when you consider per capita what other cities have in their police department."
During Monday’s discussion, Nirenberg said he wants to continue to strengthen an already healthy San Antonio economy, remain vigilant on crime, and to create a path to greater mobility in the fast-growing city.
"I'm very excited about Connect SA, which is citizen driven and will be a voter-approved transportation plan for the City of San Antonio," Nirenberg said.
The controversial food vendor contract that excluded Chick-fil-A was also discussed.
"Chick-fil-A deserves to be at the airport,” Brockhouse said. “We're gonna revote on that."
RELATED: Councilman Greg Brockhouse Calls for Chick-Fil-A Revote
The mayor said it's time to move on.
"I think there is way more important priorities to talk about than fast food at the airport," Nirenberg said.
Early voting begins Monday, April 22 and will conclude 10 days later on Tuesday, April 30.
Election Day is Saturday, May 4.