Former Mayor Castro to endorse Ron Nirenberg

Julian Castro, former San Antonio mayor and former Secretary of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Julian Castro, former San Antonio mayor and former Secretary of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Photo: Sarah L. Voisin /The Washington Post Photo: Sarah L. Voisin /The Washington Post Image 1 of / 47 Caption Close Former Mayor Castro to endorse Ron Nirenberg 1 / 47 Back to Gallery

Former Mayor Julián Castro on Saturday plans to endorse Ron Nirenberg in his campaign to unseat Ivy Taylor in the June 10 runoff.

After addressing Nirenberg’s volunteers at the candidate’s campaign headquarters — the same place Castro, and his predecessor, Phil Hardberger, housed their mayoral bids — Castro will join the supporters in a West Side block-walking effort.

“What I see in Ron is that he has a strong vision for San Antonio, for stronger economic growth, for improvements in neighborhoods all over the city,” Castro said. “And his vision includes everybody. I had a chance to work with him for a time on the council and was very impressed with his work as a councilman, his advocacy on issues like water, and the vision he has for the city, so I’m proud to support him.”

Nirenberg and Taylor emerged on May 6 as the top two vote-getters in the May 6 general election, a race that comprised a dozen other candidates, including Bexar County Democratic Party Chairman Manuel Medina.

Taylor finished with the highest plurality of the vote, garnering about 42 percent. Nirenberg earned about 37.1 percent, a finish surprising everyone but his campaign team. Medina accounted for about 15.1 percent of the vote — or 15,049 voters that both Nirenberg and Taylor would like to win over.

A Castro endorsement could help Nirenberg in that endeavor. Though the only elected positions Castro has served in have been nonpartisan ones — councilman, and then mayor — he was seen as a rising Democratic star during his mayoral tenure and offered a keynote address at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Early voting begins May 30 and ends June 6.

Read more about Julián Castro’s endorsement on Express.News.com

jbaugh@express-news.net

Twitter: @jbaugh