By Edmond Ortiz
Midway through early voting on an election concerning two venue funding proposals, one local political professor says it is too early to tell whether voting trends bode well for either measure, particularly the one that could affect support for a proposed Spurs arena.
Meanwhile, one grassroots group recently filed an ethics complaint against the City Council as part of its effort to protest the proposals.
What’s happening
According to Oct. 24 data provided by the Bexar County Elections Department, 55,194 voters cast a ballot during the first five days of voting ahead of the Nov. 4 election where voters are mulling two separate proposals.
Under Proposition A, the county proposes increasing its venue – or vehicle rental and hotel occupancy – taxes to finance the development of a year-round stock show and rodeo district covering the Frost Bank Center and Freeman Coliseum grounds.
Under Proposition B, the county proposes increasing the same venue taxes to help fund construction of a new Spurs arena at Hemisfair, with Spurs officials and city leaders envisioning the development of a sports and entertainment district.
All Bexar County voters are also considering several state constitutional amendments. Elsewhere, North East Independent School District is floating a $495 million bond, four other school districts are holding property tax elections, and four Northeast Side cities and one area school district are holding council and school board elections..
Jon Taylor, political science and geography chair at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said the 4% of Bexar County’s 1.28 million registered voters who have turned out midway through this off-year election cycle legs behind the 8%-9% turnout that marked the midway point of early voting for last June’s mayoral election runoff.
That election, which resulted in Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ victory over Rolando Pablos, ultimately saw 17% total turnout, with North Side precincts reporting the highest turnout.
County data on early voting for this Nov. 4 election shows that, across 51 polling sites, 20 are North Side locations that have each tallied at least 1,000 voters.
Brookhollow Library currently leads the overall pack of early polling sites, having seen 3,352 voters through Oct. 24. Early voting ends Oct. 31.
What they’re saying
Taylor said North Side polling sites traditionally report the highest voter turnout rates in local elections, although off-year elections such as this Nov. 4 referendum, do not typically receive as much attention as presidential and midterm election years.
Taylor said it is still unclear if the higher turnout on the North Side will translate into a win for Prop A and/or B.
“While there may be support for these propositions, the North Side is also the most conservative area of Bexar County,” Taylor added.” Presumably, there are some fiscal conservatives who may oppose the proposed tax increases in the propositions on principle.”
Taylor said the recent poll conducted by his colleagues demonstrates the Nov. 4 election is an emotional one for many local residents, regardless where they stand on Props A and B, and that the final result might prove to be closer than many expect.
“Turnout in these kinds of elections are usually abysmally low, which means that every vote counts. Even with an election that should elicit voter turnout based on an emotional appeal, we still shouldn’t expect turnout to be much higher than average,” Taylor said.
Taylor continued: “And what’s the average? Between about 8-15%. This is why we’re getting inundated with TV ads, radio, internet, and text messages. The vast majority are pro-Prop A and B, and yet they’re still facing a difficult path to approval.”
Also of note
Supporters and opponents of Props A and B are continuing their respective campaigns. Two opposition groups – COPS/Metro and the No Project Marvel Coalition – announced in an Oct. 23 press conference at City Hall that they filed an ethics complaint with the city attorney’s office against the city of San Antonio.
The groups allege that council members who host or attend public information meetings or rallies about Project Marvel are essentially endorsing Props A and B at such events where only backers of the proposals are speaking.
The groups filed the complaint through their political action committee, Defending Public Money for Public Good, which among other things has argued that any tax revenues should be used for overarching, citywide public services, such as infrastructure, and not on things such as a new sports venue.
“We are deeply concerned about election integrity, and coordination between the (pro-proposal group) Win Together campaign and city officials and the use of public resources,” COPS leader Mike Phillips said.
First Assistant City Attorney Liz Provencio responded that the opponents’ allegation will go through the city’s normal ethics complaint process. She also said that the city is able to provide only factual, basic information on an election.
Provencio added that elected city leaders may voice a stance on an election issue only at activities that are neither organized by the city nor supported by city money.
Backers of Props A and B continue to hold rallies and other events, such as an Oct. 23 phone banking program to promote the two proposals.
For his part, former Mayor Ron Nirenberg recently shared a video summarizing his support for Prop B.
“What do we get out of the arena deal? $2.1 billion in private investment, over 8,000 new jobs in construction of hotels and more, we’ll own the arena, and the Spurs will pay us rent,” Nirenberg said in the video.
