SAN ANTONIO — The runoff for who will be San Antonio's next mayor is boiling over and campaign attacks are taking center stage.
On June 8 voters will hit the polls, giving opposing campaigns more than three weeks to try to sway constituents and cement every vote they can.
In the latest attack, the San Antonio Police Officers Association, which supports mayoral candidate and City Councilman Greg Brockhouse, took aim at Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s leadership.
The claims seen below are circulating Facebook. Let's look at them, one-by-one.
'Property taxes out of control'
KENS 5 News took a closer look and found out the city has not increased taxes in 27 years.
In fact, city leaders have lowered them seven times in that time frame, according to Laura Mayes, a spokesperson for San Antonio Government & Public Affairs.
Mayes did not comment on the political ad. She says the reason people are experiencing property tax increases is because of increased property tax values that are determined by the Bexar County Tax Appraisal District.
"We are also working here at the local (level) to reform the appraisal process so that homes are appraised for what they are worth, not what the government thinks it is," Nirenberg said.
'San Antonio (is the) most dangerous big city in Texas'
San Antonio Police keeps track of crimes reported monthly, so we asked SAPD Chief William McManus about the latest statistics reported and what they prove.
"It's not the most dangerous city in the country even by a stretch," McManus said.
The latest 2017 FBI Uniform Crime Reports show Houston reported 269 homicides. Dallas claimed 167, and San Antonio 124.
'Sexual assault crime in San Antonio up 36%'
The third claim the ad makes is partially true. Since 2016, there has been an increase in rapes in the Alamo City.
However, the number of reported rapes did not increase by 36%. The KENS 5 team cross-examined the rapes reported from 2016 to 2018, and rapes reported increased by 13% in that time.
"We have been very proactive in asking victims of sexual assault to report and even with the increase in reporting we think it is still under reported by a lot, not only here but across the country,” McManus said.
Additionally, between 2017 and 2018, crimes in San Antonio dropped 10%.
"It is unfortunate that the police union has politicized this," Nirenberg said. "It is an insult to the brave men and women who are on the front lines of our success in bringing our crime rate down."