Ron Nirenberg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ron Nirenberg
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Nirenberg in 2024
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| Mayor of San Antonio | |
| Assumed office June 21, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Ivy Taylor |
| Member of the San Antonio City Council from the 8th district |
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| In office July 1, 2013 – June 21, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Reed Williams |
| Succeeded by | Manny Pelaez |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ronald Adrian Nirenberg
April 11, 1977 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse |
Erika Prosper
(m. 2001) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Trinity University (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MA) |
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| Website | |
Ronald Adrian Nirenberg (born April 11, 1977) is an American politician. He is currently the Mayor of San Antonio, Texas. Before becoming mayor, Nirenberg was a member of the San Antonio City Council for two terms.
In 2013, Nirenberg was first elected to represent District 8 on the San Antonio City Council. He then ran for mayor in 2017 and won against the person who was mayor at the time, Ivy Taylor. He officially became the mayor of San Antonio on June 21, 2017. He was re-elected in 2019 by a small number of votes, facing Greg Brockhouse. In the 2021 election, he won again against Brockhouse with a larger share of the votes. In 2023, Nirenberg won his fourth and final election as mayor.
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About Ron Nirenberg's Early Life and School
Ron Nirenberg has a diverse family background. His father's family is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent from Poland and Russia. His mother's family has roots from the Philippines, Malaysia, India, and Britain.
His parents met while they were working for the Peace Corps in Malaysia. Nirenberg's grandparents on his father's side came to the United States before World War II. His mother was born in Penang, Malaysia, and is half-Filipino. Her mother was Anglo-Indian, with a Scottish father and an Indian mother. His mother's father was a Filipino musician. Nirenberg was raised in Austin, Texas, and is a Methodist.
Nirenberg went to Trinity University in San Antonio. He graduated with high honors, earning a degree in communication. Later, he studied at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a master's degree in communications. After college, he worked as a program director for the Annenberg Public Policy Center. He also managed KRTU-FM, a radio station at Trinity University.
How Ron Nirenberg Was Elected
Ron Nirenberg has won several important elections in San Antonio.
2013 San Antonio City Council Election
In 2013, Nirenberg ran for a seat on the San Antonio City Council for District 8. Many people thought he would not win because he had less money for his campaign than his opponent, Rolando Briones. However, Nirenberg ran a campaign mostly with volunteers, including college students. He won the election, getting almost 55% of the votes in the final round.
2017 San Antonio Mayoral Election
On December 10, 2016, Nirenberg announced he would run for mayor against the current mayor, Ivy Taylor. The first round of voting happened on May 6, 2017. No candidate received more than 50% of the votes. Nirenberg and Taylor received the most votes, so they went to a second round of voting, called a runoff election, on June 10, 2017.
Even though Nirenberg had fewer votes than Taylor in the first round, he won the runoff election. He defeated Taylor with 54.59% of the votes. This made him the first person in 20 years to defeat a sitting mayor of San Antonio who was trying to be re-elected.
2019 San Antonio Mayoral Election
Nirenberg announced he would run for re-election on January 29, 2019. His main opponent was Greg Brockhouse, another member of the San Antonio City Council. Brockhouse often disagreed with Nirenberg's ideas. The election was held on May 4, 2019. Since no one won more than 50% of the votes, another runoff election was held on June 8. In this runoff, Nirenberg won his second term as mayor, beating Brockhouse by a small margin.
2021 San Antonio Mayoral Election
Nirenberg announced he would run for a third term on January 22, 2021. The election took place on May 1, 2021. Because the 2019 election was so close, Nirenberg and Brockhouse were seen as the main candidates. Nirenberg won his third term as mayor with 61.89% of the votes.
2023 San Antonio Mayoral Election
Nirenberg announced he would run for a fourth term on January 26, 2023. If he won, this would be his last term because of term limits. Nirenberg faced little opposition and was expected to win easily. On May 6, 2023, he was re-elected with over 61% of the votes.
Mayor Nirenberg's Time in Office
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Even though Nirenberg is an independent and ran without a specific political party, he is often seen as a progressive leader.
In 2013, Nirenberg supported a city rule that prevents discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. He also supported a lawsuit against a state law that aimed to stop cities from not cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
As mayor-elect, Nirenberg asked the city council to support the Paris Agreement, which is an international agreement about climate change. The San Antonio City Council agreed to support the Paris climate accord the day after Nirenberg was elected. In November 2017, the City Council approved a plan to deal with climate change. This plan helped San Antonio become one of 25 cities to receive a special grant in 2019.
In 2019, Nirenberg supported removing a Chick-fil-A restaurant from the San Antonio International Airport's food contracts. He said this was because the company's views on LGBTQ+ rights and its Sunday closures (for religious reasons) would affect airport income. This decision caused some debate. Texas Governor Greg Abbott later signed a law that stops local governments from acting against companies based on their religious beliefs.
On March 18, 2020, Nirenberg ordered many businesses to close temporarily because of the COVID-19 pandemic. San Antonio was the last major city in Texas to do this. In 2021, Nirenberg disagreed with Texas Governor Greg Abbott's decision to lift COVID-19 rules and stop local governments from making their own. Nirenberg said the governor was showing "callous disregard for life." The City of San Antonio, led by Nirenberg, sued Governor Abbott. A local judge temporarily blocked Abbott's order, allowing Nirenberg's mask rule to continue. However, the Supreme Court of Texas later blocked Nirenberg's mask rule.
Nirenberg has also started two job-training programs. In 2020, he launched "Train for Jobs SA," which was funded by $65 million from the City of San Antonio. By the end of 2021, nearly 900 people from this program had found jobs. Its next program, "Ready to Work," started in 2021 and is funded by a sales tax. By April 2024, 665 people had found jobs through this program. Nirenberg said that this program is creating a large and organized system to help people find jobs, which is new for San Antonio.
When his fourth term ends, Ron Nirenberg is expected to be one of the longest-serving mayors of San Antonio. He will be the longest-serving mayor since Henry Cisneros, who left office in 1989.
Ron Nirenberg's Family Life
Ron Nirenberg married Erika Prosper in 2001. Erika works as a director for H-E-B, a large grocery store chain. They have one son together.
See also
- List of mayors of the 50 largest cities in the United States
