San Antonio mayor's anti-Prop A stand a U-turn from prior support for cite and release, critic charges

Editor's Note: This story was updated to include a statement from Nirenberg clarifying his opposition to Proposition A.

Social justice organizer Ananda Tomas is accusing San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg of hypocrisy after he publicly came out against Proposition A during a Tuesday night interview on KSAT-TV.

The interview amounts to Nirenberg's first public statement about whether he supports the ballot measure, sometimes called the San Antonio Justice Charter. Prop A, which voters will decide on in the May 6 citywide election, would decriminalize cannabis and abortion while codifying a cite-and-release policy for petty crimes.

Prior to the Justice Charter landing on the ballot, the mayor frequently spoke in favor of cite and release, tweeted Tomas, who leads Act 4 SA, a group that petitioned to put the measure before voters.

"Hey all, I’m starting a thread with receipts of all city & county officials SUDDENLY against cite & release after supporting it FOR YEARS," Tomas tweeted shortly after Nirenberg's KSAT appearance. "Apparently money in their pocket for campaigns is more important than their own morality & their community’s lives."

Hey all I’m starting a thread with receipts of all city & county officials SUDDENLY against cite & release after supporting it FOR YEARS. Apparently money in their pocket for campaigns is more important than their own morality & their community’s lives

— Ananda Sunshine (@AnandaSunshine) April 4, 2023

Tomas went on to include earlier quotes from Nirenberg, retired Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and Police Chief William McManus in which they spoke in favor of cite and release.

"Cite and release will reduce jail crowding and enable police officers to use their time on serious crimes instead of arresting nonviolent marijuana users," Nirenberg said to KSAT in a 2017 quote shared by Tomas. "It will ensure a more efficient, effective use of police resources to keep our city safe."

During Tuesday night's KSAT interview, Nirenberg said he's concerned about a clause in Prop A that would expand the city's cite-and-release program to include theft up to $750 and property damage up to $2,500. If passed, the initiative also would ban police chokeholds and no-knock warrants.

"I am encouraging voters to do their research before they go vote, and then join me in voting against Prop A," the mayor said.

In a text message to the Current, Nirenberg said he personally supports the decriminalization of marijuana and abortion but noted that these issues need to be addressed at the State Capitol, not in a city election.

"The challenge with Proposition A is that I think it mischaracterizes what cite and release was about," Nirenberg added. "Cite and release has always had officer discretion. Prop A effectively removes officer discretion, and again, theft and property damage are not victimless crimes." 

While Tomas' tweet included no specifics about whether Nirenberg had taken campaign contributions from Prop A opponents, monied interests have certainly stepped up efforts to fight the ballot measure.

On Tuesday, the San Antonio SAFE PAC, co-chaired by car local dealer April Ancira and Eddie Alderte, a senior vice president at IBC Bank, held an anti-Prop A fundraiser at Club Giraud, a members-only dining club popular with local elites, according to a flyer circulated on social media.

Seats at the fundraiser started at $1,000 per person, according to the notice. The flyer also listed a "host committee" comprised of San Antonio business heavyweights including former Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade, developer Mike Lynd, Jim's Restaurants honcho Jimmy Hasslocher and Katie Harvey CEO of public relations firm KGBTexas Communications.


Protect SA PAC, a political action committee associated with the powerful San Antonio Police Officers Association, also is campaigning against Prop A. SAPOA President John "Danny" Diaz told the Express-News his organization has a war chest of nearly $300,000 to fight the ballot measure.

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