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Queer Asian Woman Elected San Antonio Mayor Despite Identity Politics
By Romen Basu Borsellino | 13 Jun, 2025

Filipino Gina Ortiz Jones prevailed despite accusations by opponent Roland Pablos that she was deliberately trying to mislead voters into thinking she was Latina.

Voters in San Antonio, TX made history twice on Saturday by making Gina Ortiz Jones the city’s first Asian woman and openly queer person to be elected Mayor. Democrat Ortiz Jones, who is of Filipino descent, defeated Republican Roland Pablos by 9 points.

Gina Ortiz Jones was born to a single mother from Pangasinan, Philippines. Her mother, Victoria Ortiz, is a native Ilocano, which Ortiz Jones also identifies as. She is an veteran who served as the Undersecretary of the Air Force under President Biden and has unsuccessfully run for Congress twice. 

Ortiz Jones’s ethnicity is likely well known to voters at this point. It became a central and contentious part of the race. Her opponent Pablos, who was born in Mexico, accused Ortiz Jones of trying to trick voters into thinking that she is Latina rather than Asian. Per an attack ad paid for by Pablos:  

“Gina Jones was ‘Gina Jones’ until she wasn’t. She added Ortiz to her name when she ran for Congress…Gina, drop it. You’re not Latina…On June 7, vote for the real thing: Roland Pablos.”

There is no evidence that Ortiz Jones has attempted to trick voters. Given that San Antonio’s population is approximately 64% Latino, however, it is safe to say that efforts to court the demographic would certainly be helpful to any candidate.

Ortiz Jones, who serves on the Asian American Foundation Advisory Council and has explicitly stated that she is not Latina, responded by calling Pablos’s attacks on her identity racist. Whether or not Pablos’s accusations against Ortiz had any truth to them, it is practically incontrovertible that his ad’s use of the phrasing “vote for the real thing,” was an attempt to pit Ortiz Jones’s Filipino identity against his own Mexican identity.

Nevertheless, she was victorious. 

Despite their respective political affiliations, this was technically a non-partisan race, meaning that “Democrat” and “Republican” did not appear on the ballot alongside either candidates’ name. Voters' potential unfamiliarity with her political party may have accounted for Ortiz Jones’s underperformance compared to Kamala Harris’s 16.7% lead over President Trump in San Antonio in 2024. 

The city has not had a Republican Mayor since 2001. In that time, the city has elected Julian Castro and Edward Garza, two Latino men, Ivy Taylor, a Black woman, and incumbent Governor Ron Nirenberg who is a mix of Jewish, Malaysian, Filipino, Indian, and British. 

While neither Ortiz Jones nor her opponent appear to have explicitly made her sexuality a factor in the race, she had the backing of several LGBTQ+ groups including Human Rights Campaign and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. According to Texas Public Radio, Pablos both raised and spent more money on the race than Ortiz Jones.

Whether or not Pablos’s accusations against Ortiz had any truth to them, it is practically incontrovertible that his ad’s use of the phrasing “vote for the real thing,” was an attempt to pit Ortiz Jones’s Filipino identity against his own Mexican identity.

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