Running for mayor of San Antonio is expensive.
And according to Christian Archer, a political consultant with Adelante Strategy who also spearheaded former Mayor Julián Castro’s campaign, State Rep. Mike Villarreal has the upper hand as far as a war chest goes because of his early start.
“Here’s the trick, so Mike Villarreal is the only person that can accept a $1,000 dollar check (because he opened up a mayoral election account),” Archer said.
And just the first round of the election can cost anywhere from $500,000 to $700,000, according to Archer.
“So if you’re not a serious contender on the money side of things, those people will all drop off before all the announcements and before the candidates go up on TV,” Archer said.
But there’s only so much money to go around.
“When you think about it there is a limited amount of money (in San Antonio) to support four or five legitimate candidates for mayor. And so those who are in front of the money have a clear and distinct advantage,” Archer said. “And there are only so many thousand dollar contributors to go around.”
So until someone else officially announces that they are running for mayor, Archer said Villarreal will likely continue to soak up as many of those thousand dollar contributions as possible.
“Mike has a clear upper hand,” Archer said.
