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There was a large field of candidates vying to represent San Antonio s largest City Council district, which spans 84 square miles spread out on the South and Southeast sides of the San Antonio.
Twelve people ran for the District 3 seat and two will now go head-to-head in the June runoff Phyllis Viagran and Tomás Uresti.
The district s current representative Rebecca Viagran is not among them, as she has reached the four-term maximum on City Council and cannot run again. But her sister Phyllis received about 22% of the May primary vote, and Uresti followed with nearly 15%.
Viagran has worked as a community outreach coordinator and trainer for Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) since being furloughed from Visit San Antonio in June 2020. She has served on the boards of both Brooks Gives Back and The Rape Crisis Center in San Antonio.
Political newcomers Teri Castillo and Rudy Lopez are headed to a runoff in the race to represent District 5 as current City Council member Shirley Gonzales terms out after eight years in office.
Neither candidate received a large enough percentage of the May primary vote to win outright. Educator Teri Castillo earned 30.65% of voter support and retired city employee Rudy Lopez received 15.65%.
San Antonio s poorest district is located between downtown and Lackland Air Force Base, with boundaries of Culebra Road to the north and Southcross Boulevard to the south. According to data from SA2020, District 5 per capita income is $13,257.
Creating and training for jobs that pay higher wages, affordable housing and education are the most debated issues in the race for District 5. Protecting neighborhoods from gentrification and repairing aging infrastructure are other top concerns.
Shirley Gonzales: Make a promise to prioritize pedestrian lives
Shirley Gonzales, For the Express-News
May 15, 2021
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Lisa Starr Rosenstein, 53, seen with her husband and their children, was killed by a hit-and-run driver on a road designed for cars to travel fast.Courtesy Dorthy Williams
Lisa Rosenstein, 53, died on a Sunday morning when she was hit by a car as she jogged along a path precariously close to a road designed with cars, not runners, in mind.
It’s frustrating and heartbreaking there’s been another pedestrian fatality in San Antonio, especially since the changes to prevent more deaths are slow in coming. The circumstances of each pedestrian fatality are different, but the causes and the unspeakable loss are not.