In less than a month, voters will head to the polls to choose San Antonio's next mayor. The two candidates leading the race are current Mayor Ron Nirenberg and District 6 City Councilman Greg Brockhouse.
They took the stage Tuesday at Palo Alto College to address issues affecting the senior community, and continued their battle over Chick-fil-A. The audience was a room full of AARP members, most people over the age of 50.
"We hope they will continue to help us out in the senior community," Paul Diaz said.
The two candidates responded to audience questions surrounding quality of life issues for seniors.
While Nirenberg touted all of the accomplished programs set in place during his time as mayor, Brockhouse fired back with things wrong with the current administration.
Nirenberg said he took over when crime in the city was at an all-time high. He said in the last two years, crime rates have dropped. "We have dropped the crime rate twice as fast as the national average, and we are at a 30 year low," he said.
Brockhouse said the crime may have declined, but the city is still seeing high crime rates in certain neighborhoods. "Because if you live on one side town, I guarantee you feel different about crime on the other," he said.
Affordable housing is also a leading issue for seniors. Charlene James, the state's volunteer president of AARP, said most seniors want to stay in their homes as they age while also having access to transportation and healthcare.
Another concern is the rising cost of housing and the new developments forcing them out of their neighborhoods.
"A lot of seniors are having to move out of their properties because they can no longer afford the taxes," said AARP volunteer Julia Castellano-Holt.
The candidates were also asked their feelings on the Chick-fil-A drama that's been unfolding for the last few weeks.
Brockhouse said the issue has become a national embarrassment. "We made a bad decision. We need to re-vote and fix it, to bring Chick-fil-A back to the airport," he said.
Nirenberg stands by his decision that San Antonio needs to have a restaurant that's open on Sundays, and fired back at Brockhouse's enthusiastic response.
"I wish the councilman was as excited to talk about housing and transportation and equity as he is about fast food," Nirenberg said.
AARP said they sponsored the event to keep area seniors informed, so they can learn about the issues firsthand.