At just 24 years old, Ric Galvan acknowledges he was an unlikely choice to represent San Antonio’s West Side on the City Council.
The politically swingy District 6 seat has long preferred moderates, yet this year picked Galvan, an unabashed progressive who knocked on more than 2,000 doors and raised more money than a number of candidates with longer political resumes.
Galvan is now among a host of new faces on a City Council that’s grown younger and more partisan.
He joined producer Cory Ames on this week’s episode of the bigcitysmalltown podcast to talk about his path to politics, pitching progressivism to skeptics, and his recent criticism of the downtown redevelopment project known as Project Marvel.
Galvan grew up thinking he’d become teacher, but caught the political bug while observing education policy battles play out in the Texas Legislature.
“When I went to [the University of Texas at] Austin, I knew it was the place I wanted to go to, because the capital was so close,” Galvan said.
Over the years he volunteered for various progressive candidates and causes, but said it was still a surreal experience campaigning for himself.
“It didn’t ever feel natural to talk about myself instead of another candidate, like, ‘Oh, I support this person for this reason,’” Galvan said. “Now it’s, ‘Oh, it’s me. I’m the one I’m talking about.’”
Galvan’s connections from working in the District 5 office at City Hall gave him some early insight that longtime Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6) might run for mayor instead of reelection this year, he told Ames.
And while he wasn’t sure he was ready to run, he flagged interest in the race and was overwhelmed by the encouragement from former high school teachers, college professors and even his pediatrician.
“They all said, ‘Go for it. Why not give it a shot? We need energy in politics right now,’” Galvan said.
Galvan finished a close second in a seven-way race, then went on to defeat labor organizer Kelly Ann Gonzalez in a runoff by just 25 votes.