San Antonio, El Paso voting on progressive propositions

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Voters across Texas are heading to the polls Saturday for municipal elections that are being headlined by several ambitious, progressive-backed ballot propositions.

Mayors in some of the state’s largest cities are also on the ballot, but few face serious competition. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson does not face any opponents at all.

That has focused most political attention on ballot propositions in San Antonio, Austin and El Paso that touch on a host of progressive priorities. In San Antonio, the state’s second-largest city, progressives are pushing a “justice charter” that promises to decriminalize abortion and low-level marijuana offenses and require tickets rather than arrests for some nonviolent offenses.

In El Paso, progressives are backing Proposition K, or the “climate charter,” which would set aggressive renewable energy goals and overhaul city policy to make reducing carbon emissions a priority. It has drawn the support of Beto O’Rourke, the former statewide Democratic candidate and member of the U.S. House from El Paso.

The ballot propositions have drawn fierce opposition from public safety and business groups, which have issued dire warnings about their impact.

The ballot propositions are part of a trend that has Texas progressives turning to local elections to implement an agenda that has been blocked by the Legislature. Republican lawmakers have taken notice and are prioritizing proposals this legislative session to narrow the cities’ home rule authority.

Polls are open Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Progressive ballot propositions

San Antonio is home to the biggest progressive fight in Texas. Proposition A would not only overhaul policing through its provisions on abortion, marijuana and nonviolent offenses, but it would also outlaw no-knock warrants and officer chokeholds.

The city has said only one provision — creating a “justice director” at City Hall — is consistent with state law, with the remaining provisions unenforceable.

Supporters are relishing the opportunity to send a symbolic message about the city’s values and potentially battle the state in court if the proposition passes. They’re also branding it as the first time Texas voters get a chance to vote directly on the issue of abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, triggering a virtual abortion ban in Texas.

However, much of the campaigning has focused on a proposal to expand the city’s cite-and-release policy. Currently, San Antonio police have the discretion to either make an arrest or issue a citation for a range of Class A and B misdemeanor offenses, such as theft from a business of less than $750. Proposition A would require citations for those offenses and expand the list of offenses eligible for citations.

Supporters say Proposition A is needed to reduce jailing and free up resources to focus on more serious crime. But opponents argue it will incentivize crime and damage the economy. Its opponents include Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who has otherwise been a Democratic ally on some of the issues in the proposition.

In El Paso, Proposition K aims to reach beyond the city’s operations and attempt to set clean energy goals for the entire local economy: 80% clean energy by 2030 and 100% by 2045. It would call on the city of El Paso to create a new climate department, produce climate impact statements for major city decisions and rethink local policy at all levels to cut greenhouse gas emissions. It would also require the city to explore buying El Paso Electric, which is privately owned.

It’s the second climate proposal brought to El Paso voters in less than a year: In November, voters approved a proposition to create a city climate action plan.

The proposition has provoked a bitter fight between economic development groups and local climate activists, including those involved with the national Sunrise Movement. Even in his recent endorsement of the proposition, O’Rourke said it was not “ideal,” calling some of the language “confusing and vague.”

And in Austin, voters will decide on dueling propositions related to policing. Proposition A was placed on the ballot by criminal justice reformers and seeks to increase oversight of the Austin Police Department. Proposition B is similarly worded but backed by law enforcement groups and geared toward maintaining the status quo.

Mayors seeking reelection

In addition to Dallas’ Johnson, other mayors up for reelection Saturday include Fort Worth’s Mattie Parker and San Antonio’s Nirenberg. While Parker and Nirenberg have multiple opponents, none have posed a serious threat.

The races are nonpartisan, but each mayor has partisan history. Johnson is a former Democratic state representative, while Parker has identified as a Republican but has expressed dismay with the current state of the party.

There is also a mayoral race in Arlington, the Dallas suburb that counts as Texas’ seventh-most-populous city. Mayor Jim Ross is seeking reelection against a realtor, Amy Cearnal, who has received large money in the homestretch and has attacked Ross for donating to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.

Still, Ross is the favorite to win, much like the other incumbent mayors.

A more pitched battle is playing out farther down the ballot in Fort Worth, where Republican forces are trying to win back a majority on the City Council. Democrats gained a one-seat majority on the council in 2021, and conservatives are trying to take over a newly expanded 11-seat council.

Erin Douglas contributed reporting.

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