2009 San Antonio mayoral election
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| Turnout | 11.61% | ||||||||||||||||
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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. The election was officially nonpartisan.
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.
| 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