A weekly podcast that breaks down how politics works, and often doesn't work, in San Antonio. Metro Editor Greg Jefferson and Express-News reporters question politicians and other newsmakers about what they're up to in our name.
Peter Sakai talks Project Marvel, jail reform, ...
Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai took time out from his Democratic primary fight against former Mayor Ron Nirenberg to talk with ENside Politics about improving the county lock-up, backing a new Spurs arena but not the sports district it would tie together, and why he's campaigning on balanced budgets -- which are required under the Texas constitution.
57 min
2
Many San Antonians can't make ends meet. Here a...
San Antonio Food Bank CEO Eric Cooper talks with host Greg Jefferson about why San Antonio remains one of the poorest cities in the country despite education and income improvements.
54 min
3
Can council stop a rumored ICE facility coming ...
City Councilwoman Sukh Kaur talks with the ENside Politics team about the possibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement buying an East Side warehouse for a massive detention center, the search for San Antonio’s next police chief and iconic gay nightclub Bonham Exchange's clash with the city.
45 min
4
In the aftermath of Minnesota killings, what is...
46 min
5
Bexar County’s voter registration saga and a Pr...
City Hall reporter Molly Smith talks to county government reporter Saul Pink and business reporter Madison Iszler about fundraising in the county judge's race, why Bexar County hasn't switched the software it uses to manage voter rolls, and where the sports and entertainment district stands.
29 min
6
The Nirenberg-Sakai face-off for Bexar County J...
Bryan Gervais, head of UTSA's polling center, talks with City Hall reporter Megan Rodriguez and host Greg Jefferson about the Ron Nirenberg-Peter Sakai race in the March 3 Democratic primary and the future of public financing for a Spurs arena downtown and Project Marvel.
34 min
7
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones wins one, data center an...
District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan talks with City Hall reporter Molly Smith and host Greg Jefferson about last Thursday's nailbiter - City Council's 6-5 vote to change the city election calendar - as well as Galvan's efforts to potentially regulate data centers and eliminate fares for VIA buses.
52 min
8
Erasing the rainbow, brawling over city electio...
Gov. Greg Abbott gets the last word on San Antonio's Pride rainbow crosswalk on North Main, and Thursday's City Council vote on moving municipal elections is shaping up to be a test of Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' strength -- or a measure of her weakness. City Hall reporters Megan Rodriguez and Molly Smith and host Greg Jefferson discuss.
33 min
9
Primary season starts as all eyes on Nirenberg-...
City Hall reporter Molly Smith and county government reporter Saul Pink talk to political consultant Andrew Solano about Texas Congressional District 35, the Bexar County judge's race and Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' push to move city elections to November.
28 min
10
The city election shuffle and a Sakai-Nirenberg...
Former Bexar County commissioner Kevin Wolff, reporter Megan Rodriguez and host Greg Jefferson discuss Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' proposal to move city elections from May to November, her rocky start at City Hall and former Mayor Ron Nirenberg's run against County Judge Peter Sakai in the March Democratic primary.
55 min
11
The ongoing saga of Mayor Gina and the arena | ...
City Hall reporters Megan Rodriguez and Molly Smith and host Greg Jefferson talk about Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' new push for the city to take a tougher approach in talks with the Spurs for tax dollars to build a new arena.
39 min
12
So they're building a Spurs arena....right? | ...
City Hall reporters Madison Iszler and Molly Smith and host Greg Jefferson discuss what comes after the narrow passage of Bexar County's Prop B, which dedicates up to $311 million in tax revenue to a new Spurs arena. One of the biggest next steps: a big city bond election for infrastructure around the arena site.
32 min
13
Nelson Wolff talks Spurs arena vote, mistakes a...
The retired Bexar County judge and ENside Politics team dissect the Spurs and Rodeo tax elections and discuss why arena proponents had to grind out a narrow win in the Nov. 4 vote.
42 min
14
Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez on why he's vo...
The East Side councilman talks with reporter Madison Iszler and host Greg Jefferson about why he's opposed to Bexar County tax funding for the Freeman Coliseum grounds and a Spurs arena at Hemisfair.
52 min
15
COPS/Metro sees ball bouncing its way in Spurs ...
COPS/Metro leaders Adrian Castro and Sonia Rodriguez make their case against spending any tax dollars on a new Spurs. Their bottom line in a conversation with reporter Molly Smith and host Greg Jefferson: billionaire team investors would benefit, not taxpayers.
54 min
16
Spurs exec makes case for Prop B arena funding ...
Bobby Perez, Spurs Sports & Entertainment's general counsel, talks public financing for a downtown arena and addresses relocation fears in a wide-ranging conversation with reporter Madison Iszler and host Greg Jefferson.
46 min
17
Keeping up with Mayor Jones | ENside Politics
City Hall reporters Megan Rodriguez and Molly Smith and host Greg Jefferson discuss Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' ups and downs since taking office in June -- her strained relationship with some City Council members, how she's doing on her agenda and the losing votes she's racked up so far.
34 min
18
Spilling the cowboy beans on the rodeo tax elec...
San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo CEO Cody Davenport talks with reporter Madison Iszler and host Greg Jefferson about the $192 million tax proposition on the Nov. 4 ballot and the huge rodeo expansion plan it would pay for.
Pollster Brannon Miller, City Hall reporter Molly Smith and host Greg Jefferson discuss the campaign for tax dollars for a Spurs arena, why Gov. Greg Abbott has spooked big-name Democratic challengers and Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' first 100 days.
52 min
20
San Antonio council OKs a super confusing anima...
City Hall reporters Megan Rodriguez and Molly Smith join host Greg Jefferson to talk about the confusion that is the city's new animal abandonment law, the on and on and ongoing fight between Mayor Jones and City Council, and Ron Nirenberg's political future.
33 min
21
Excuse me? How an anti-pet abandonment vote at ...
City Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito, City Hall reporter Megan Rodriguez and host Greg Jefferson talk about an ordinance to penalize the abandonment of unwanted pets, council members' tense relationship with Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, and more.
41 min
22
A San Antonio Councilman's case for voting yes ...
District 4 Councilman Edward Mungia, City Hall reporter Molly Smith and host Greg Jefferson talk about the opposition to public financing for a Spurs arena, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' hard-edged tactics and what comes next for Project Marvel.
43 min
23
Breaking down Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ very roug...
Political consultant Laura Barberena, reporter Megan Rodriguez and host Greg Jefferson discuss the highs and lows of Jones' handling of a looming vote on a Spurs arena and her push to unilaterally change how City Council makes policy.
48 min
24
District 5's Teri Castillo asks what's the rush...
The West Side councilwoman thinks a city-ordered economic analysis of Project Marvel is tainted — the consultant is owned by a company whose main backer is Spurs investor Sixth Street Partners — and has to be redone before the City Council decides whether to make a deal the NBA franchise and Bexar County.
49 min
25
Mayor Jones slows city's Spurs arena roll | ENs...
Political consultant Andrew Solano, reporter Madison Iszler and host Greg Jefferson talk about Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' push to drive a harder bargain with the Spurs. Also, will the team's commitment to spend $500M on arena construction make public financing to pay the rest of the bill an easier sell at the polls?