( - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
(Cross-posted at San Antonio Mayor).
Today, the San Antonio Express-News endorsed Julian Castro for Mayor. This is a key development because the candidate that wins the endorsement of the Express-News usually goes on to win the mayoral race. In 2005 and 2007, the E-N endorsed Hardberger for Mayor and he won both times. In 2001, the E-N endorsed Ed Garza, and Garza won.
The Express-News editorial notes that of the three main candidates in the race, Julian Castro is the best prepared and offers the best choice for the city. Notably, the editorial noted Castro's emphasis on and vision for economic growth as one of the main reasons for their endorsement. The newspaper also noted that most of the business community is now backing Castro in this race. With early voting in the race starting on Monday, the Express-News endorsement will give Castro a major advantage as it will probably influence many undecided voters. |
| Based on the E-N editorial, Castro is the best choice to replace Mayor Phil Hardberger and continue his agenda for economic growth balanced with strong environmental protections and an emphasis on new green energy options.
With only two weeks to go until election day, the E-N endorsement will enable Castro to extend his lead in the race. In the last poll conducted by Hamilton Campaigns, Castro led his nearest rival, Trish Deberry-Mejia by 28 points. Both Deberry-Mejia and the other candidate, Diane Cibrian have struggled to gain traction in the race, and both have had difficulty in fundraising and getting business community support.
So far, Castro has been the only candidate able to build a broad coalition of citywide support. In addition to the Express-News endorsement, Castro has received every major endorsement, including the Police, Firefighters, and Sheriffs'. And he has the backing of most of the main business leaders in the city, including Charles Butt of HEB, the Zachry Family, Randall Mays of Clear Channel, Graham Weston of Rackspace, Mike Beldon, and many more.
At this point, the momentum in the race is clearly behind Castro. He has a significant lead in cash on hand, a big lead in the polls, and the strongest grassroots/field operation in the race. With the Express-News endorsement in hand, Castro is well on his way to victory on May 9th. |
