2009 San Antonio mayoral election

Summary

The San Antonio mayoral election of 2009 was held on May 9, 2009. The incumbent mayor Phil Hardberger was term-limited after serving two terms. The election was won by Julian Castro, who took office on June 1, 2009.

2009 San Antonio mayoral election

← 2007 May 9, 2009 2011 →
Turnout11.61% Increase
 
Candidate Julian Castro Trish DeBerry-Mejia Diane G. Cibrian
Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan
Popular vote 42,745 22,031 6,181
Percentage 56.23% 28.98% 8.13%

Mayor before election

Phil Hardberger

Elected Mayor

Julian Castro

Announced candidates edit

  • Lauro Bustamante
  • Julian Castro, former City Councilman and 2005 mayoral candidate
  • Diane Cibrian, City Councilwoman (District 8)
  • Trish DeBerry-Mejia, PR consultant and small business owner
  • Michael "Commander" Idrogo, perennial candidate
  • Napoleon Madrid
  • Sheila D. McNeil, City Councilwoman (District 2)
  • Julie Iris Oldham, perennial candidate
  • Rhett R. Smith, perennial candidate

Frontrunner status edit

After the deadline to file passed, four candidates (Castro, Cibrian, McNeil and DeBerry-Mejia) were considered the frontrunners in the race. Polls showed Castro ahead by big margins, and some polls showed Castro winning outright without need for a runoff election. Second place was highly contentious, with Cibrian and DeBerry-Mejia trading off for second place.

Election day edit

On May 9, 2009, the election for Mayor was held. Turnout was slightly higher in the May 2009 election than the May 2007 election, with 11.61% of registered voters casting a ballot in the 2009 election (as opposed to 10.16% in 2007). Also, more votes were cast during early voting than on election day (55,780 votes cast during early voting to 34,055 on election day.)

A majority of votes is required to win the office of Mayor of San Antonio. If no person earns a majority, the two top vote earners shall advance to a runoff election to decide. Mayoral elections are non-partisan.

San Antonio Mayor, 2009
Regular election, May 9, 2009
Candidate Votes % ±
Julian Castro 42,745 56.23%
Trish DeBerry-Mejia 22,031 28.98%
Diane G. Cibrian 6,181 8.13%
Sheila D. McNeil 2,962 3.90%
Rhett R. Smith 715 0.94%
Lauro Bustamante 441 0.58%
Julie Iris Oldham 385 0.51%
Michael "Commander" Idrogo 371 0.49%
Napoleon Madrid 188 0.25%
Turnout 76,019 9.83%*

* Vote percentage only include votes for San Antonio Mayor. The remaining 1.78 percent in the election voted for different constituencies, or did not cast a vote for Mayor of San Antonio

References edit