Mayoral Race Victory Speech – June 7, 2025

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Truly, I am looking out into a crowd of folks that work their butts off. I could not be more thankful.

It was my name on the ballot. But you and I know decency was on the ballot. Kindness was on the ballot. Compassion – compassion was on the ballot. Compassion. And San Antonio showed up and showed out.

There are so many people I need to thank, that have worked so hard.

First of all, though, I’m grateful for God’s goodness and grace that has brought me to this point. He would never give me more than I can handle and I know that. And I’m thankful for him bringing me, all of us, to this point.

I want to thank all of the organizations that have been so instrumental in making in making this happen. It was a coalition, a coalition of people. From our veterns, our Vote Vets, to our LGBTQ group. I see you Lindsey [name]. I see you [another name]. I see you, Graziella!

So LGBTQ Victory Fund is, I know is here, the chair, the board – thank you!

HRC San Antonio – thank you!

Annie’s List, Annie’s List? [from audience: Not here yet] Not yet, but I know they made this happen.

So many, so many groups made this moment happen.

I see Texas Organizing Project here.

I want to also thank, as I look at the individual volunteers – my goodness. So many of you that have been with me for a long time, and I appreciate you.

Because this is a race, as we move forward as a, in a community, I am very thankful for the opportunity to be able to serve with everybody in mind, with everybody in mind, right? When I think of those folks that I, that we need to always remember….

Well, actually, before I move on, let me also just thank the Gomez family. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for your generosity, for your leadership all these years. I’ve been thankful to get to know your family in this short amount of time. But thank you for your leadership.

As we think about what’s going on in this moment in time, there’s a lot going on at the federal level, there’s a lot going on at the state level.

But we here in San Antonio, deep in the heart of Texas, reminded folks what San Antonio stands for. Didn’t we? Didn’t we? We reminded them that our city is about compassion. It’s about leading with everybody in mind. And when one side offered racism, we offered compassion and focused on getting things done.

I think about… When I think about moving forward with everybody in mind, I think about my fellow veterans. I think about my fellow veterans that understand the moment in time that we’re in; understand, unfortunately, the attacks on our Constitution; and the importance for us to do our part to remind everybody, not only in our country but in the world, what American values are and what they look like in action.

As at the federal level and at the state level, they want to not see my my LGBTQ community. Here in San Antonio, our mayor, your mayor, will be focused on serving everybody. Because in this city, everybody is treated with dignity and with respect.

I also want to thank the hard-working unions that supported my, that supported my campaign. Because as we if you want to address poverty, you pay people a living wage.

I want to thank Northside AFT, SA Alliance. I want to thank CWA, IBEW. Very thankful for Central Labor Council and all of their support.

I want to thank my team. This motley crew of hard-working…we ain’t taking no for an answer. We are going to get it done. I’m so, so proud of them. We’ve got folks like young Elliot. Elliot – where’s Elliot? Elliot is all of 18 years old and he’s been a wonderful volunteer. He’s going to go off to UT Austin here shortly.

I’ve got Manny. Manny, I think, is still in the car. Manny’s wonderful.

[Name]? Where’s [name]? They’re still…see, folks are still at the headquarters. They’re still crunching those numbers. They’re working hard. I’m so thankful for my hard-working team.

My campaign manager here, Jordan Abelson.

I also want to I want to…I want to highlight a special guest. They don’t know I’m going to do this, but I think it’s really important. When I was the under secretary, I was at Lackland Air Force Base, and I was meeting with those folks there. And one of them was a transgender drill instructor. And I remember that face, and just last week that face showed up at one of our events.

And Brandon, if you’re up here. I want to highlight Brandon because Brandon is from San Antonio. Transgender man, drill instructor in your United States Air Force. But unfortunately is getting kicked out because of the executive orders.

And so it does is just remind us that leadership matters. Leadership matters. Leaders do three things: they create opportunities, they protect opportunities, or they erase opportunities. Right.

So I look forward to being a mayor for all. I’m very proud that Brandon’s going to stay in San Antonio. It’s unfortunate that the United States Air Force is not gonna benefit from your talents because of bigotry.

But you know what? Our country – I think we’re going through a blip right now. But San Antonio has had the opportunity to say, “You know what - we’re going to move past this. We’re going to remind everybody what is possible when we focus and keep the main thing, the main thing. And that’s leading by example, right?

So, Brandon, we’ll find a spot for you.

And I want to end…I want to thank...where’s my mom? Mom? My mom…. You know, I often think about the courage that my mom had to come to this very special country. My mom graduated from the number one university in the Philippines, but she came here as a domestic helper. And I always think about like, wow, I wish, I don’t know if I would have had that amount of courage, right, as that young person. But she was so inspired by what our country has to offer, that when that opportunity came up, she said, I’m going to do it, because I know that if I go to that….

KSAT 12. “Gina Ortiz Jones declares victory in San Antonio mayoral runoff race.” YouTube video, 10:07. June 7, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m2Iu6uO98g