San Antonio Voters Passed the Largest Proposed Bond at a Record Breaking $1.2 Billion Dollars
Results are in! San Antonio voters approved all six propositions in the record breaking 2022-2027 $1.2 billion municipal bond.
Approximately 7,000 people voted on Election Day, combined with early voting numbers, the total came out to 72,956 people that cast their ballots.
In early February, the San Antonio City Council unanimously voted to approve the bond to be placed on the ballot. All six propositions were listed. Beyond the amount, this bond was a first of its kind as it featured a housing bond that included $45 million dollars for home rehabilitation and preservation, $40 million for rental housing acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation, $35 million for production of rental units, $25 million to provide permanent housing for the homeless community, and $5 million to produce single family homes.
In a February 2022 article for the San Antonio Report, District 4 City Councilwoman Adrian Rocha-Garcia said, “the 2022 bond program is an opportunity to invest in ourselves and our neighbors in a more equitable manner… expanding our understanding of public investments further exemplifies our commitment to helping one of the fundamental needs of our residents: affordable housing.”
For San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, this election victory meant keeping the promise towards a more equitable San Antonio. “This is an effort to make sure that we are staying in front of a housing crisis that has swept the nation”, Nirenberg said when speaking at a bond election watch party.
However, the election victory was not without its initial skepticism. Dominic Ortiz, in his May 2022 article, “Why San Antonio Voters Should Be Skeptical Of The Housing Bond,” writes, “Proposition F isn’t a bond proposition for affordable housing; it’s an experiment in housing policy based on an improbable and rosy outlook…The rosy outlook makes us believe that $300 million would turn the economic tides on the increasing prices of Texas homes.” Proposition F passed with 59.79% voters voting “For” and 40.21% voters voting “Against”.
Several of these projects will impact District 2 such as in Proposition C which approved $12.5 million dollars to renovate the Carver Branch Library and $11.5 million dollars to renovate the Ella Austin Community Center. Other projects include improving several streets and sidewalks making neighborhoods easily accessible.
Since many community members who reside in District 2 find themselves entangled with the affordable housing crisis, this victory seems like a step in the right direction.
However, with the overwhelming positive reception, the work is far from over. Because this is a record setting bond, at a time when just about every aspect of San Antonio living was transformed due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, this means that the City Council will be held accountable for immediate action. The bond also coincides with the incumbent workforce program SA Ready to Work which officially also kicked off early this year.
Only time will tell if the intentions of these bond propositions will truly come into fruition in a healthy, equitable, and sound way. It will be up to the City Council, the Mayor, and the City Manager will work diligently to prioritize and execute each project appropriately while ensuring the very community that voted these in will be kept informed of the results.
