{"id":250716,"date":"2026-04-15T10:06:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T10:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/250716\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T10:06:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T10:06:26","slug":"san-antonio-business-elite-gives-mayor-jones-lukewarm-reception-at-first-state-of-the-city-address","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/250716\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio business elite gives Mayor Jones lukewarm reception at first State of the City address"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones gives her first State of the City address at the Tobin Center on Tuesday. Credit: Michael Karlis<\/p>\n

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones received a lukewarm reception from the city\u2019s business community Tuesday during her first State of the City address \u2014\u00a0an annual speech that\u2019s veered into cheerleading territory under some prior mayors.<\/p>\n

Some of Jones\u2019 key talking points received only a smattering of applause, and following the presentation, one of the event\u2019s hosts urged the crowd to clap more to show their appreciation for her time. <\/p>\n

Hosted at the Tobin Center by the Greater Chamber of Commerce, the annual gathering is largely attended local business leaders and is intended to provide an economic snapshot of the city. Jones avoided boosterism, primarily focusing on fixing the Alamo City\u2019s lagging economic development and speaking in frank terms about problems with education and general poverty that continue to plague the community.<\/p>\n

In contrast to other State of the City addresses, Jones \u2014\u00a0a political outsider with no prior City Hall experience \u2014 didn\u2019t hold back from acknowledging that San Antonio is the nation\u2019s third-poorest large city and that its lackluster educational attainment has dimmed its economic prospects. She also warned that city government could be forced to cut programs due to stagnating property and sales tax revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe significantly lower bond capacity will require us to ruthlessly prioritize,\u201d Jones said. \u201cMy buckets, in no particular order, look like streets and sidewalks, flood infrastructure, economic development \u2014 and downtown stuff. We\u2019ll just call it that.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the 15-minute speech, Jones also made it clear that San Antonio\u2019s current economic state of affairs isn\u2019t something she finds acceptable. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe state of our city is the choice between status quo, business as usual, or something better,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

To some, Jones\u2019 acknowledgment of San Antonio\u2019s real and lingering issues with education and income inequality could be seen as a welcome change. However, the business and political elites gathered at the event largely kept their heads down, more focused on their Filipino-inspired lunch menu than on applauding the mayor. <\/p>\n

During the address, Jones heavily focused on her economic development agenda and suggested San Antonio needed to think about growing its business base in new ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the initial conversations I had with Gov. [Greg] Abbott, he said very clearly, \u2018San Antonio has to up its economic development game,\u2019 verbatim,\u201d said Jones, a Democrat who served as the Biden White House\u2019s Under Secretary of the Air Force.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have found that to be very much the case in my 10 months in this seat,\u201d she continued. \u201cI think there are more things that we can do to differentiate ourselves between Houston, Austin and Dallas \u2014\u00a0not just in quality of life, but I think also the quality of the sectors that we have here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones discussed her recent trip to Taiwan, part of a broader mission to lure semiconductor chip manufacturers to the Alamo City. She also touted her Mayor\u2019s Economic Security Advisory Group, which is focused on strengthening San Antonio\u2019s ability to compete in sectors other than tourism, including artificial intelligence, quantum technology, biotechnology and space manufacturing.<\/p>\n

While Jones\u2019 message was focused on economic growth, she reiterated that she was elected to serve the broader populace and not corporate interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy administration will continue to prioritize steps that show the people \u2014 our neighbors, our bosses, really \u2014 that we\u2019re here to serve them, here to engender their trust,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

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