SAN ANTONIO — Six years after resigning his position as Texas secretary of state, Rolando Pablos is seeking election to local office after announcing his intent to run for San Antonio mayor.
Pablos, 56, filed to appoint a treasurer for his campaign Tuesday. He said that, if elected, he hoped to leverage his state-level experience and international connections to maximize the Alamo City's economic potential.
"I've got excellent, established relations not only in Austin but across the world," he said. "So I'm able to bring those relationships so that we can attract that quality investment that is going to create those jobs."
Pablos joins a crowded mayoral field that now features at least five candidates vying to succeed Ron Nirenberg, who leaves office in the summer of 2025. The seat is term-limited and Nirenberg is unable to run again, setting the stage for a showdown when voters head to the ballot box next May.
Three sitting City Council members – Adriana Rocha Garcia, Manny Pelaez and John Courage – have previously announced their intentions to run when the filing period opens in January. Beto Altamirano, a tech entrepreneur who hails from the Rio Grande Valley, has also said he plans to run.
Pablos, a Republican, left the secretary of state position in December 2018, almost exactly two years after being appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott. But that's far from where his public service history ends; he has also served as the state chief elections officer, a senior advisor to the governor on border affairs and chair of the Border Trade Advisory Committee, according to his campaign.
On a local level, the San Antonian chaired committees pertaining to small business development and homelessness, while sitting on the boards of various nonprofits.
According to his campaign website, Pablos' platform will be built around boosting small business success, addressing housing affordability, transparent government and "ensuring the city uses money wisely."
While the office is nonpartisan, Pablos said Tuesday that he would bring "my fiscally conservative nature" to the office if elected, including working to make sure "taxpayers get to keep as much of their money as possible (and) that we avoid government waste."