Bexar County voters are barreling toward an unusually significant off-year election.
While you won’t see many names on the ballot, this Nov. 4 election offers voters their first — and perhaps only — opportunity to weigh in on a $1.3 billion NBA arena and Eastside revitalization that were long negotiated behind closed doors.
Other big taxing and spending considerations on the ballot include whether to raise taxes for cash-strapped school districts, and whether to enshrine tax cuts into the Texas constitution.
This is the San Antonio Report’s comprehensive Voter Guide, with everything you need to navigate a very money-centric election.
Voter Guide: Nov. 4 election
Bexar County’s $503M venue tax election
The county is asking voters to approve venue tax dollars for its contribution to the new Spurs arena, known as Prop. B, and to create a year-round stock show and rodeo district in the team’s old home, known as Prop. A.
The money comes from taxes on hotels and rental cars, which would repay bonds issued to build the arena over the next 30 years.
Credit: Cooper Mock for the San Antonio Report
Big-picture, local leaders hope both the arena and rodeo grounds are just the starting point for much larger redevelopment projects.
The City of San Antonio expects the new Spurs arena to anchor a new sports and entertainment district near Hemisfair, known as Project Marvel, which would include housing and mixed-use development.
Proposition B
On Prop. B, voters are only saying yes or no to the county’s portion, or about a quarter of the funding for the arena — which also leans on money from the city and the team’s owners.
But the city doesn’t need permission to spend its $489 million arena contribution, so the success of Prop. B will be one of the only barometers of the public’s support. If it fails, the team, city and county will have to decide whether they still want to pursue the new arena.
Proposition A
Meanwhile, Bexar County leaders hope that Prop. A’s transformations to the Frost Bank Center and Freeman Coliseum will create year-round Eastside visitors, helping draw new development like restaurants and a hotel to revitalize an industrial part of downtown.
Prop. A only funds the first piece, shown in these renderings, but more hints about the bigger vision can be found here.
School funding measures on Nov. 4 ballot
Texas lawmakers approved $8.2 billion for public education this year, but schools are required to use most of those funds on teacher raises, and local superintendents say it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for flattening revenue sources and money they were promised but didn’t receive from the state the previous session.
Judson, East Central and Schertz-Cibolo ISDs are all asking voters to approve tax rate increases. Meanwhile, North East ISD is pursuing its first bond election in a decade.
Here’s what each district is asking for and how the money would be used.
Three small-town mayors face challengers
A handful of smaller municipalities elect their mayor and council members in off-year November elections.
On the Nov. 4 ballot, Converse Mayor Al Suarez faces three opponents, Schertz Mayor Ralph Gutierrez drew a challenge from a local fire chief, and Windcrest Mayor Dan Reese has two opponents.
All three cities have council positions on the ballot as well, and Schertz is voting on a proposal involving annexation of land near Randolph Air Force Base.
17 Texas constitutional amendments
Texas lawmakers have been using budget surpluses to approve big property tax relief in recent years. Now that the budget is getting tighter, they want to enshrine those cuts in the state constitution, making them much harder to undo.
Many of the proposed constitutional amendments involve tax cuts for homeowners, veterans, people who are disabled, and people who earned money from investments or inheritance.
Others make political statements, like elevating parents’ rights. One creates a budget for dementia research and another for water infrastructure.
Read more about all of them in this deep dive from The Texas Tribune.