Puro Politics is a weekly podcast hosted by columnist Gilbert Garcia, covering the drama and nuance of local government issues.
Produced by Joy-Marie Scott.
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Rey Saldaña is altering the script.
Local political watchers observed the Stanford grad’s development over the past nine years — from insurgent, 24-year-old underdog in the 2011 City Council election to council leader to VIA board chairman — and saw a straight line to the mayor’s office.
While the San Antonio mayor’s office remains a strong possibility for Saldaña, it may happen considerably later than we anticipated.
Saldaña announced last week that he was moving to the Washington, D.C., area to become the president and CEO of Communities in Schools, a national nonprofit devoted to serving at-risk public-education students also known as CIS.
Saldaña’s big career move was a prime topic of conversation on this week’s episode of the Express-News’ Puro Politics podcast.
On ExpressNews.com: Rey Saldaña is scrapping his way to the top
Greg Jefferson, the business editor for the Express-News, wrote a Sunday profile of Saldaña. He said it took a month of thought and consideration before the former councilman came around to the idea of running CIS.
“It wasn’t part of his long-term plan to go to the Washington area to lead CIS,” Jefferson said. “He was happy here; he’s a got a 1-year-old, a wife, they’ve got themselves set up in a house; and everything was good. And this came up.”
Jefferson added that Saldaña’s departure from the local scene is likely temporary, and one that will not impede his future prospects in San Antonio politics.
“This is a well-worn path for San Antonio politicians,” Jefferson said. “They kind of make their name here; they go away; they earn some national media, raise their profile; and they come back.”
Hear this and other topics discussed on this week’s episode of the Puro Politics podcast.
Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
