As San Antonio braces for its 2025 mayoral election, the race is already cluttering with prospective candidates from the City Council, despite Mayor Ron Nirenberg still having more than a year left in office. The political scene is abuzz with talks of council members showing interest in taking over the helm - particularly four council members who, according to the San Antonio Express-News, believe they are up to the task and are making sure their networks know it. District 9 Councilman John Courage has explicitly stated, "I'm running," while District 6 Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda signals that she "intends to run." Their ambitions surface as City Hall insiders position themselves for a competitive sprint to the front of the pack.

While potential mayoral contenders line up, council members recently voted unanimously to dial back local campaign transparency, shifting from quarterly to biannual donor disclosures. The San Antonio City Council voted 10-0 to align with a state policy that mandates campaign finance reporting only twice per year, in January and July, as reported by the San Antonio Report. Additional reports before an election will still be obligatory, showing activity 30 days and again eight days before Election Day - typically after early voting kicks off. Despite criticism, Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia sided with her colleagues, acknowledging her distaste for the quarterly reports burden, “I wanted to keep [the quarterly reports] but I know my colleagues hate it,” said Rocha Garcia, who also faces a decision on whether to seek re-election or to possibly endorse another candidate.

This retrenchment in campaign finance transparency has raised eyebrows amidst the city's need to upgrade its outdated reporting software. City Clerk Debbie Racca-Sittre stated that the city's unique campaign finance rules have complicated the procurement of new systems and that even after the changes to the reporting schedule, compatibility issues persist. San Antonio enforces contribution limits, but as Racca-Sittre told reporters, the state system does not account for such restrictions.“There’s also some functionalities, such as the blackout period reporting, and the ability for our city auditor and our ethics auditor to pull down a report based on who contributed,” she added. This points towards the potential for the city to have to develop its own system internally, prompting a significant budget request in the coming years.

Adding to the election intrigue, the city council has moved to expand policies to prevent business and nonprofit leaders' donations from influencing city contract awards, a move that garnered more debate from council members, the San Antonio Report outlined. Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran objected, arguing against what she views as a needless encumbrance on nonprofit leaders, while Rocha Garcia countered that such stipulations should have already been standard procedure. As the mayoral race heats up, with an open seat for the first time, since 2009, and current council members jockeying for position, these changes to campaign finance rules appear to add another layer of complexity to an already dynamic political landscape.