ENside Politics

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.

News
Politics
1
Port SA chief talks Mayor Jones, future of mili...
Port San Antonio CEO Jim Perschbach discusses his role as head of the mayor's Economic Security Advisory Group with the ENside Politics team --  and air taxis, his lonely quest for the 16th Air Force, the possibility of government funding for a new South Side grocery store and how San Antonio does "economic development."
46 min
2
The strange — and strained — relationship betwe...
City Hall reporters Megan Rodriguez and Molly Smith talk with host Greg Jefferson about Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' pledge to help one of San Antonio's biggest and oldest gay nightclubs raise money for legally required fire sprinklers, and how it has gone weirdly wrong.
40 min
3
Marc Whyte says S.A. needs more cops. Here's wh...
Councilman Marc Whyte talks with the ENside Politics team about what's behind a resolution that he and council members Marina Alderete Gavito and Misty Spears are pushing at  City Council to commit to hiring 65 police officers next year.
45 min
4
Higher utility bills could be on city agenda as...
Express-News reporters Liz Teitz and Kelsey Brown talk with host Megan Rodriguez about potential utility rate hikes that officials at CPS Energy and SAWS are mulling  — and how the utilities want to use the extra funds if they secure them.
30 min
5
Behind the scenes of Ron Nirenberg's win, a fig...
Political consultant Laura Barberena talks with the ENside Politics team about what was behind the former San Antonio mayor's landslide victory for the Democratic nomination for Bexar County judge, and a potential fight at City Council over plans to add 65 officers next year.
39 min
6
Tony Gonzales’ fall and the rise of The AK Guy ...
Recapping the events that led Tony Gonzales to drop his reelection bid with Texas politics reporter Bayliss Wagner, half of the Express-News reporting duo who broke the story of the San Antonio representative’s affair with a former staffer. Wagner and host Megan Rodriguez also talk about the now-unchallenged GOP candidate in District 23, Brandon Herrera a.k.a., The AK Guy.
32 min
7
What's behind Ron Nirenberg's landslide win ove...
Nirenberg's big win, Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez's big loss and the Democratic runoff for district attorney — host Greg Jefferson and reporters Saul Pink and Molly Smith talk about all of it in a special edition of ENside Politics.
27 min
8
Jalen McKee-Rodriguez talks censure of Mayor Gi...
Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez presided over Friday's censure of Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones — and he debriefs with the ENside Politics team on this week episode.
57 min
9
Nirenberg's track record, his 'Toyota' and what...
Political consultant Andrew Solano talks with the ENside Politics team about former Mayor Ron Nirenberg's City Hall track record and whether it'll help him in his bid to unseat Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai. Also: Does it matter that Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones is getting along with many of her City Council colleagues?
47 min
10
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
11
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
12
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
13
In the aftermath of Minnesota killings, what is...
46 min
14
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
15
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
16
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
17
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
18
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
19
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
20
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
21
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
22
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
23
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
24
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
25
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