SAN ANTONIO — Breaking the cycle of poverty through workforce development was a prominent theme during Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s State of the City address Tuesday.
“The state of our city is strong so join me y’all saying yes to continuing our work together,” Nirenberg said.
The mayor praised the establishment of the $200 million Ready to Work program, which was approved by voters in 2020 and is being funded through a 1/8 cent sales tax.
“Now more than 6,500 people have enrolled in the program, more than 1,200 individuals have graduated. Roughly 50 percent of graduates are already on the job.”
The city maintains an online dashboard that tracks the number of people who’ve enrolled, graduated and secured employment as a result of the Ready to Work program.
A handful of graduates attended the State of the City event, one of whom is working for the San Antonio Food Bank and another in the healthcare industry.
“Ready to Work is workforce development and education so that we can change cycles of poverty in this city and that’s the kind of work that’s necessary if we’re not just wanting to talk about the issue we want to solve it,” Nirenberg said.
The mayor also praised the ongoing work of working with community partners to build more affordable housing. He stressed how vital the $150 million bond in 2022 has been in constructing these housing projects due to economic factors.
“Your collective support of the $150 million housing bond became a lifeline for several affordable housing projects that faced significant gaps due to rising construction costs. The result, by the end of last year we broke ground on over 1,000 new multi-family units,” Nirenberg said.
Beyond his time as mayor, Nirenberg hopes to see continued progress of federal dollars going toward enhancing the VIA transit system and San Antonio International Airport.
Nirenberg has served as San Antonio mayor for the past seven years, now in the middle of his fourth and final term.
District 8 City Councilman Manny Pelaez announced Tuesday his intent to run for San Antonio mayor in 2025. He joins District 9 City Councilman John Courage in a race that's expected to get crowded in the coming months.