Downtown San Antonio is viewed from above in October 2024. The city has long looked to the world, with a history of strategic approaches that deliver economic opportunities to its residents, our guest columnist writes.
Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones watches a video before giving an address on April 14 during the Greater San Antonio Chamber’s annual State of the City event at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. As a former under secretary of the Air Force and now mayor of Military City, USA, Jones’ deep appreciation for partners, allies and American leadership will be invaluable to the international Pact of Free Cities, our guest columnist writes.
Katina Zentz/San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio has long been a city looking to the world. Its people, businesses and the U.S. military have motivated the city to find benefits overseas that they can deliver at home.
These connections have brought investment and jobs, sister cities, a rich culture, major events and life-changing experiences for young people.
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A few years ago, while serving as the U.S. State Department’s first special representative for city and state diplomacy, I read San Antonio’s application in a competition to host a foreign service officer as part of a pilot program to bring federal diplomats to U.S. cities.
We believed our diplomats would gain invaluable insights from local communities while helping cities bring global opportunities home to Americans. I knew immediately that San Antonio was a perfect fit for this effort because of its strategic and clear approach. And, indeed, the diplomat assigned supercharged an already strong international program that was delivering economic opportunities.
The program has since been dismantled, but San Antonio’s connections to the globe have not withered.
So I sought out San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones for a new project.
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The Alliance for Local Leaders International was born of the idea that America’s local leaders must have international connections to serve residents in the best way possible.
Mayors share lessons learned and their best practices all the time across borders. Who better to learn from to prevent flooding than leaders of Dutch cities? Who better to consult on reducing air pollution than London officials?
Mayors and other local elected leaders are also wonderful voices for the United States on the global stage — pragmatic, nonideological and collaborative. When mayors see a problem, they roll up their sleeves to fix it.
Now, the world is facing a new challenge.
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National governments are seeking to curtail the liberties that people who live in democracies expect: freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, truth, impartial justice, equality for all, free and fair elections not skewed to the party in power.
Mayors play a significant role preserving these individual rights, especially when a national government wants to eliminate them. Local leaders are, by far, the most trusted level of government. Their constituents can find them in a grocery store or at a park. They are directly accountable for progress on their cities’ challenges.
Importantly, cities keep the systems and the norms of democracy going even as they are being dismantled at a national level. They are delivering to residents what they need and want, as transparently and efficiently as possible, and involving residents in their own governments. They issue permits for protests and celebrate pluralism.
The mayors of Eastern Europe know this well. In 2019, four mayors from Bratislava, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw formed the Pact of Free Cities to share lessons in how to serve their people even as they were being attacked and defunded.
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This group, which grew to nearly 40 members, has decided to welcome 10 American mayors into the network. Naturally, I nominated San Antonio to be one of them.
Jones volunteered to be part of the newly formed leadership group as the U.S. representative. As a former undersecretary of the Air Force and now mayor of Military City, USA, her deep appreciation for partners, allies and American leadership will be invaluable in steering this collection of powerful cities toward mutual aid and lessons to learn.
I am convinced the shared values of this transatlantic group, and the relationships forged within it, will serve the people of San Antonio well in the years ahead.
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Nina Hachigian is CEO and founder of the Alliance for Local Leaders International. She was deputy mayor for international affairs in Los Angeles, the U.S. State Department’s special representative for city and state diplomacy, and the U.S. ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
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