District 8 San Antonio City Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez takes notes during a meeting. Credit: Facebook / Ivalis Meza Gonzalez for District 8
District 8 San Antonio Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez faced a snarky response from the dais Thursday after she proposed changing the dates of Fiesta to increase voter turnout.
Meza Gonzalez’s suggestion came during a council discussion of Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ proposal to move municipal elections from May to November during off-years — a change that would likely boost voter turnout by not having voting occur at the same time as SA’s annual citywide party.
“We could always move Fiesta. That is an option, and we might want to consider that,” Meza Gonzalez said. “We cannot move the holidays — November, December, cold weather, Christmas parties. We can’t do any of that.”
Despite extensive research showing that moving municipal elections to November would likely increase turnout and save money, Jones’ proposal met with pushback Thursday from Meza Goinzalez along with District 9 Councilwoman Misty Spears and District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte.
Even so, Meza Gonzalez was the only opponent of the idea to suggest moving Fiesta, which traditionally occurs in late May through early April.
In response, Jones called Meza Gonzalez’s proposal a “novel” idea.
“Moving Fiesta doesn’t necessarily mean people would now associate May with voting, right?” Jones quipped. “I mean, that seems like an even larger logistical lift than doing this.”
District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez audibly sniffed at Meza Gonzalez’s suggestion, something for which he later apologized.
“I had that reaction because several council members ago in District 2, the idea of reversing the MLK March came up, and there was an uproar,” McKee-Rodriguez said. “I can only imagine if we brought up the idea of moving Fiesta and what that would do and look like.”
Jones proposed moving San Antonio’s elections to late November after learning about Dallas City Council voting last month to move that city’s municipal elections to November. Under Senate Bill 1494, passed by the Texas Legislature, municipalities statewide have until Dec. 31 to make that election-timing change.
San Antonio City Council is expected to vote on the matter next week.
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Some councilmembers say there isn’t enough time for community input on moving off-year municipal elections to November. Jones says that’s not her fault.
During a council debate Wednesday, members raised concerns including how such a move would impact school districts.
Experts argue the move encourages turnout while also saving taxpayer money.