Former Mayor Ron Nirenberg is waging a primary challenge against Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai — a fellow Democrat who Nirenberg says doesn’t have the vision to steward a rapidly growing county.

“I don’t think that that office is performing the way it should. It’s been reactionary to major issues. And frankly, we need strong leadership,” Nirenberg told the San Antonio Report of his decision this week.

In recent years across the state, traditionally bureaucratic county judgeships have seen long-time incumbents replaced with more ambitious, and in some cases more partisan, successors.

Outspoken progressive Lina Hidalgo shocked political watchers by unseating longtime Republican Harris County Judge Ed Emmett in 2018. Then in 2022, voters chose Republican firebrand Tim O’Hare to succeed longtime Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley.

Nirenberg went toe-to-toe with GOP state leaders many times as mayor, but suggested that isn’t necessarily his intention in replacing Sakai.

“The county judge has the bully pulpit and has the ability to set the tone for this entire community,” Nirenberg said. “It doesn’t mean we’re looking for a fight, but it does mean that sometimes we’ve got to end them.”

But he agreed that across Texas, other counties are approaching the role differently.

“I think that the kind of energy, innovation and teamwork that are represented by some of these new leaders in counties, is an opportunity to look at Bexar County in a similar way,” he said.

Nirenberg campaign launch

A campaign launch party on Saturday exuded energy and enthusiasm as roughly 200 supporters ate pizza while a live band played at Backyard on Broadway.

Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2) and state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) were part of a speaker lineup aimed at underscoring Nirenberg’s leadership skills, environmental advocacy and progressive credentials from eight years as San Antonio mayor.

Councilman Jalen McKee Rodriguez (D2) and Erika Prosper Nirenberg stand with Ron Nirenberg before his speech. Credit: Jo E. Norris for the San Antonio Report

“Ron pushed forward on the issues that define what it means to be a modern, inclusive city,” McKee-Rodriguez told attendees. “That is the leadership that we need at all levels of government.”

Bexar County faced its own leadership shift in 2022 when longtime County Judge Nelson Wolff retired after more than two decades in the role.

In a three-way primary with two younger, more partisan Democrats running, voters chose Sakai, a moderate, longtime district court judge best known for his work on the Children’s Court.

He came in with a vision of refocusing limited county resources around its core responsibilities — overseeing the courts, jail and elections — something he says he’s proud to have made progress toward in the past three years.

Nirenberg, on the other hand, says the county has the potential to do more.

Under Wolff, for example, it added a county manager, professionalized the office and used COVID-19 relief dollars to dive into mental health services.

“That was perhaps one of Nelson’s strengths,” Nirenberg said. “He didn’t limit the role of the judge’s office to what was simply written in blueprint from the people before him, he really looked at the region and what this region needed, and he scoped the work of the county judge accordingly. That’s what I would like to do as well.”

Former Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff speaks the at Nirenberg campaign launch.

Wolff, who endorsed Sakai as his successor in 2022, said Saturday that this time he’s backing Nirenberg, with whom he worked closely throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

“​As he goes into this office, he’ll open up the doors, bring in fresh air and bring light to the room,” Wolff said. “He is the man for the job.”

Sakai had about $435,000 in his campaign account as of July, while Nirenberg is rebuilding from scratch.

Filing for the March 3 primary opened this month and closes Dec. 8, meaning more candidates could still join the race.

Blue-on-blue race

Sakai, for his part, says that if Nirenberg wants to fix the big problems facing Bexar County, he should try running against a Republican instead.

Right now the GOP controls every lever of power in Washington and Austin, and just redrew Texas’ congressional maps to pick up even more seats in 2026.

“I find it interesting that, [with] … the cuts to Affordable Care Act subsidies, the cuts to Medicaid, the cuts to SNAP, the cuts to all the basic services that, by the majority of Congress right now, are moving forward, Ron Nirenberg has chosen to take on me as county judge — a Dem versus a Dem fray,” Sakai said on a panel at the Texas Tribune Festival on Friday.

At one point, taking on Republicans seemed to be Nirenberg’s goal.

First he hit the trail with Kamala Harris’ unsuccessful presidential campaign, then sources say he was leaning toward challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

He launched a federal PAC near the end of his mayoral tenure, and then in September registered a state PAC called Texans for Ron Nirenberg, which he said would provide a fundraising vehicle for whatever comes next.

Asked about those deliberations this week, Nirenberg said that he had been looking for the opportunity where he could do the most good.

“As I’ve gone through this discernment period, the question in my mind has always been, where can I be most helpful and impactful to move our community forward?” he said.

“There’s tremendous opportunity for us to elevate through local leadership, and that’s the work I know how to do, and that’s the work, frankly, I think, is the most important,” he continued. “We can dream of getting our politics in this country and in this state on track, but if we can’t do that in our own backyard, none of it matters.”