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.
Episodes
October 13, 2026 • 51 mins
North Side Councilwoman Misty Spears talks with the ENside Politics team about why she voted a SAWS rate increase last week, why she's against the city's lawsuit to stop a planned ICE detention center on the East Side and why she's dead-set opposed to Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' bond proposal.
Suggested reading:
Council OKs plan to raise SAWS customers' rates up to 29% by 2030
Council pushes back on North Side subdivision's bid to a...
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October 6, 2026 • 39 mins
Political consultant Andrew Solano talks with the ENside Politics team about the coming fight at City Council over whether to once again raise San Antonio's tax rate to underwrite a big bond package. Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones says no — but it's complicated.
Suggested reading:
City staff proposes $442 million bond to avoid property tax hike, but some council members eye $1 billion
San Antonio leaders weigh stormwater fee hike ...
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September 29, 2026 • 34 mins
Reporters Madison Iszler and Megan Rodriguez talk with host Greg Jefferson about why the Conservation Society cancelled next year's NIOSA, one of Fiesta's main events — and why some of the event's many diehard volunteers and fans aren't buying the society's explanations.
Suggested reading:
Anger flares at Conservation Society meeting over NIOSA decisionNIOSA canceled for 2027 as organizers 'pause' to regroup
Sa...
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September 22, 2026 • 49 mins
Brooks Development Authority CEO Leo Gomez talks with the ENside Politics team about what it took to land Industrial Electric Manufacturer, a utility equipment maker that will build a $200 million plant at the former Air Force base and hire 3,000 workers. Gomez also details plans to continue expanding beyond the former base's boundaries.
Suggested reading:
Former Brooks Air Force hangar to become National Park Service facility
...
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September 16, 2026 • 36 mins
After weeks of sniping at one another both in public and behind the scenes, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and City Council finally vote on the city's $4.4 billion budget and its first property tax rate hike in more than three decades. The ENside Politics team examines how we got here and what's behind all the fighting.
Suggested reading:
Here’s what Mayor Jones wants to cut from the San Antonio budget
City takes heat for cutting ...
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September 9, 2026 • 42 mins
District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte talks with the ENside Politics team about cuts he wants to see to the city budget to avoid a property tax increase and why he's OK diverting tax revenue from the general fund.
Suggested reading:
'Unacceptable': San Antonio nonprofits rally against proposed $5.1M cut to city grantsIn controversial vote, board approves millions for Spurs arena land purchase
Longtime SAPD lawman Jesse Salame is C...
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September 1, 2026 • 45 mins
District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez talks with the ENside Politics team about his efforts to stop or at least slow down a planned ICE detention center on the East Side, the hard budget choices facing City Council — and the tattoo shop he co-owns with former Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda.
Suggested reading:
ICE awards contract for San Antonio immigration detention centerCouncil members fight over budget cuts,...
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August 25, 2026 • 51 mins
County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez talks with the ENside Politics team about how Bexar County will close its two-year, $145 million budget deficit, what's next for the publicly financed Spurs arena (and what request Spurs Sports & Entertainment might make in the near future), and the recent drama between the county and San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
Suggested reading:
No tax hike. No major cuts. But Bexar County is cut...
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August 19, 2026 • 42 mins
The ENside Politics team dissects Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' campaign to put the city $489 million contribution to the planned Spurs arena to a public vote in November -- and a razor-thin City Council majority's rejection of the move this week.
Suggested reading:
Mayor Jones again calls for city vote on Spurs arena funding
Mayor Jones urges residents to tell City Council to order arena funding election
Mayor Jones' push for vote...
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August 11, 2026 • 33 mins
District 8 Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez talks with the ENside Politics team about why she wants to ask San Antonio voters in November to reauthorize Pre-K 4 SA for another 20 years.
Note: A few hours after this was recorded Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones announced that she was no longer seeking a citywide vote to reallocate Ready to Work dollars
Suggested reading:
Mayor Jones scraps push to hold election on Rea...
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July 28, 2026 • 45 mins
District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo talks with the ENside Politics team about the many hard choices City Council will have to make in next year's budget and what it's like to serve under Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones.
Suggested reading:
Mayor Jones proposes killing Ready to Work to close budget deficit
Mayor Jones asks business community to fund nonprofits that rely on city dollars
Hundreds of jobs, array of city services could be...
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July 21, 2026 • 43 mins
Political consultant Andrew Solano talks with the ENside Politics team about whether City Council has the appetite to cut funding for the San Antonio Botanical Garden and other nonprofits -- or to increase the city's property tax rate. Also, the Bonham Exchange is asking for more time to install legally required fire sprinklers after Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones drops her pledge to help raise money for the system.
Suggested reading:
...
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July 7, 2026 • 33 mins
The head of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo is warning that a conceptual development plan for the East Side could collide with his organization's expansion — and that tax dollars voters OK'd for the rodeo's designs could wind up paying for some of those clashing projects. Reporter Madison Iszler and host Greg Jefferson discuss.
Suggested reading:
Rodeo says East Side development plan clashes with expansion
H...
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June 30, 2026 • 35 mins
Education reporters Noah Alcala Bach and Sophia Veneziano talk with ENside Politics about which area school districts have come under Texas Education Agency scrutiny and why.
Suggested reading:
State probes Judson ISD for alleged threats, failure to report child abuse
STAAR gains offer lifeline to some S.A. schools at risk of state interventionJudson ISD board OK's budget that nearly slays deficit
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June 24, 2026 • 35 mins
Reporter Liz Teitz and the ENside Politics team discuss the rupture that resulted in City Council postponing a vote on a SAWS rate increase till next fall.
Suggested reading:
After debate, split City Council delays decision on SAWS rate hike
SAWS says it needs to raise rates. It’s hitting resistance at City Hall.
City staff to council: Raise SAWS rates — just not by quite as much
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June 16, 2026 • 33 mins
Former San Antonio Mayor and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff talks with reporters Madison Iszler and Molly Smith about the hallmarks of Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' first year in office, what Ron Nirenberg's administration could look like if he wins the county judge election and tensions over Project Marvel and plans for the Frost Bank Center grounds.
Suggested reading:
One year in, Mayor Jones remains a political island in San Antoni...
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June 9, 2026 • 66 mins
Former City Councilman Manny Pelaez talks with host Greg Jefferson about the freebies council members are offered — and that many of them accept — such as Spurs, concert and gala tickets, not to mention "parking wherever the hell they want." He also weighs in on Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' rocky first year in office and Project Marvel.
Suggested reading:
Which San Antonio politicians got free Spurs playoff tickets?
Can C...
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May 27, 2026 • 29 mins
The ENside Politics team talks about how President Trump scrambled the race for the GOP nomination in San Antonio-anchored Congressional District 35 and Luz Elena Chapa's razor-thin margin in the Democratic primary for Bexar County district attorney.
Suggested reading:
Luz Elena Chapa wins tight runoff for Bexar County DA
Johnny Garcia to face Carlos De La Cruz for Congressional District 35
Does John Cornyn's defeat mark an e...
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May 20, 2026 • 28 mins
Politics reporter Molly Smith and host Greg Jefferson talk about the heated race between Luz Elena Chapa and Jane Davis for the Democratic nomination for Bexar County district attorney, and the blow-up in the Democratic contest in Congressional District 35 between Maureen Galindo and Johnny Garcia.
Suggested reading:
DA candidates in Democratic runoff clash over experience, case backlog
Personal loans, family contributions bol...
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May 13, 2026 • 33 mins
Megan Rodriguez chats with fellow Express-News reporters Liz Teitz and Madison Iszler as they dig into a proposed rate hike at SAWS and the controversy surrounding the pitch.
Suggested reading:
As SAWS mulls rate hike, these City Council members want a shakeup at the utility
SAWS seeks rate hikes as City Council weighs cost to residents
SAWS says it needs 8% rate hike this year to avoid system failures
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