Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, Paula McGee headed to runoff for City Council seat

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UPDATE AT 11:07 P.M.:

Ivalis Meza Gonzalez is headed to a runoff with Paula McGee in the race for San Antonio City Council District 8.

With 100% of precincts reporting, Gonzalez led the election with 40% of the vote. McGee secured 22% of the vote, barely overcoming the third-place candidate, Sakib Shaikh.

Since no one received at least 50% of the vote, they will head to a runoff on June 7.

Meza Gonzalez expressed her enthusiasm to KSAT as she leads the District 8 race.

“Awesome. Great. We feel wonderful. Fantastic and ready to hit the ground running tomorrow,” Meza Gonzalez said. “We’re ready to hit the ground running and represent the residents of District 8. I know this community. I care about this community. I’m raising my kids here.”

“I’m born and raised in San Antonio, and I really just can’t wait to represent the residents of District 8.”

McGee told KSAT that if she makes it to the runoff, she would have her team work “very hard.”

“We’re gonna be very aggressive, and we have a lot of money to raise. We are gonna be working at it very hard starting Monday,” McGee said. “We have deep roots and relationships throughout this city so I love the people of San Antonio and that’s really why I wanted to serve in this way and I hope I get to.”

Bexar County had a 7.81% voter turnout in the May 3 election, according to the Bexar County Elections Department. Out of 1,257,459 registered voters in Bexar County, 20,201 voted on Election Day and 74,238 cast a ballot during early voting. Another 3,751 were absentee ballots.

Compared to the last city election in 2023, Bexar County saw a 15.34% voter turnout.

UPDATE AT 7:50 P.M.:

In the San Antonio City Council District 8 race, early voting totals show that Ivalis Meza Gonzalez is leading with 43.29% of the vote, while Sakib Shaikh is currently in second with 20.89%.

Paula McGee is in third place with 21.81% of the vote, early voting numbers show.

According to the Bexar County Elections Department, the county saw a 6.2% voter turnout in the May 3 election.

La Cantera, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and the Medical Center are part of the district.

For the last eight years, Manny Pelaez has served as the councilman for District 8. But he’s termed out and is now running for mayor.

These totals do not include votes cast on Election Day – those will be released in the next few hours. KSAT will update this story as new information becomes available throughout the evening.

If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff scheduled for June 7.

Whoever wins the District 8 City Council seat will serve four years in office.

BACKGROUND

Six candidates are competing to replace termed-out councilman Pelaez in District

For the last 25 years, Sakib Shaikh has called San Antonio home. Now, he wants to have a role in shaping the city’s future.

He said he’s lived in and around District 8 for decades. As a UTSA and St. Mary’s University graduate, Shaikh said his career and heart are here in San Antonio.

Shaikh owns a family-run convenience store and has a real estate license. He previously served as the director of constituent services for District 8 and was a software engineer.

Public safety is one of Shaikh’s top priorities this campaign cycle.

Shaikh said that if elected, he would support an increase in funding for the San Antonio Police Department to get “more boots on the ground to make up for attrition, retirement and just the growing population.”

As a father of three, Shaikh said community is his priority.

Cesario Garcia

With an estimation that San Antonio’s population will surpass 3 million by 2030, Cesario Garcia said, if elected, he would prioritize safety, transparency and infrastructure as the District 8 councilman.

Garcia’s career history is in film and television production, but right now, he’s focused on expanding his political footing and “bettering San Antonio.”

He has run for city council before, but this go around, he said he feels stronger with his message and his team.

Garcia said he believes in a “small government.” He said San Antonio should be responsible for “safety, security, water and trash.” He advocates for more officers within the SAPD to support the city.

He also wants to be proactive with development and construction projects in District 8.

Cindy Onyekwelu

Cindy Onyekwelu said she’s ready to transition from “behind-the-scenes work to direct involvement in local government.”

“My goal is to give back to the community,” Onyekwelu said.

Onyekwelu has lived in San Antonio for the last six years. She’s a first-generation Nigerian-Mexican American and a software engineer.

If elected, she said she wants to prioritize district-wide ADA compliance. Onyekwelu said she is a regular rider of VIA buses and experiences firsthand the problems in District 8 with traffic and accessibility.

Onyekwelu said she’s passionate about economic growth through small business empowerment.

In her career, Onyekwelu said she focuses on finding data-driven solutions.

Rodney Kidd

Transparency and open city management are what Rodney Kidd wants to see out of San Antonio. That’s why he’s running for the District 8 City Council seat.

Kidd is an entrepreneur with a background in technology and logistics. He’s been living in San Antonio for just more than a decade.

He said he wants to create a “safer” District 8 through “technology-driven solutions.”

He wants more funding for police and fire departments, and he’s also looking to implement “strategic policing.”

Kidd said he decided to run for council to improve communication between the city and the community.

If elected, he wants to take a proactive approach to construction and traffic concerns through zoning management.

Addressing mental health is also a priority for Kidd. He’s advocating for a city and county mental health hospital to increase “accessible” and “affordable treatment.”

Ivalis Meza Gonzalez

Born and raised in San Antonio, Ivalis Meza Gonzalez has always called this city home.

She graduated from UTSA and St. Mary’s Law School. Now, she’s raising her family in District 8 and wants to help preserve her community as the new councilwoman, if elected.

Meza Gonzalez worked at the San Antonio River Authority and served as the chief of staff to Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

She said public safety, economic development and improving infrastructure are top issues in District 8.

She wants to implement more “traffic-calming mechanisms” in District 8, like speed bumps and stop signs.

Having lived in the district for 15 years, Meza Gonzalez said she’s more than familiar with traffic and congestion problems. That’s why she wants to prioritize District 8 in upcoming bond programs to fund more drainage projects and address infrastructure challenges.

Paula McGee

Paula McGee said she wants to be “intentional” if elected as the District 8 councilwoman.

McGee has lived in San Antonio for a little more than 39 years, and she said she’s thought about running for council “for a while.”

McGee is a practicing attorney and has served on the San Antonio Zoning Commission, the Ethics Review Board, and the Alamo Colleges Foundation board.

Living in District 8, McGee said she knows public safety and infrastructure are what impact residents the most.

Explosive growth is something McGee wants to stay on top of if elected. She wants to address long-overlooked construction projects.

McGee also wants to build stronger neighborhood relationships with SAFFE officers to address crime.

Transparency is a priority to McGee, and so is economic development.

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