{"id":220625,"date":"2025-09-12T10:28:21","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T10:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/220625\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T10:28:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T10:28:21","slug":"pacs-form-to-sway-voters-on-props-a-and-b-ahead-of-spurs-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/220625\/","title":{"rendered":"PACs form to sway voters on Props A and B ahead of Spurs vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

An otherwise sleepy, off-year November election is about to get a lot more attention.<\/p>\n

Political Action Committees (PACs) are gearing up to sway voters on two measures that would direct Bexar County venue tax dollars toward a\u00a0year-round rodeo district<\/a>\u00a0on the East Side, known as Proposition A, and a\u00a0new downtown NBA arena<\/a>\u00a0for the Spurs, known as Proposition B.<\/p>\n

The roughly\u00a0$1.3 billion Spurs arena leans<\/a>\u00a0on funding from Bexar County, the team\u2019s owners and the City of San Antonio. But the Nov. 4 ballot proposal is the first \u2014 and perhaps only \u2014 time that voters will be asked to weigh in on public funding.<\/p>\n

Against that backdrop, big money is being spent to rally supporters and opponents on the ballot initiatives. <\/p>\n

PACs are expected to report their fundraising and spending twice before the election<\/a>, but the final totals won\u2019t be known until semi-annual campaign finance reports are due in January. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at the groups trying to win your vote and what we know about their funding so far.<\/p>\n

Inside Prop. A & B\u2019s \u2018vote yes\u2019 campaign <\/p>\n

Win Together PAC<\/p>\n

The San Antonio Spurs are spearheading the campaign to pass both Prop A and Prop B, through a PAC called Win Together.<\/p>\n

The Spurs are teaming up with the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo to support both initiatives because their respective projects each require voters to approve raising the county\u2019s hotel tax from 2% to 3% and extending its rental car taxes.<\/p>\n

Prop A:<\/strong>\u00a0$191.8M for stock show and rodeo district on East Side
Prop B:\u00a0<\/strong>$311M for new downtown Spurs arena
Total:\u00a0<\/strong>$503M generated by extending the existing rental car tax and increased hotel tax, from 2% to 3%<\/p>\n

Combined, those so-called \u201cvenue\u201d taxes are supposed to produce about $503 million over the next 30 years, divided between the basketball arena and the rodeo projects.<\/p>\n

The Spurs hired longtime local political hand Andrew Solano to manage the campaign, as well as some other consultants, including MAP Strategies, which has worked on past bond election campaigns in San Antonio.<\/p>\n

Solano said the campaign is Spurs-funded, but \u201cif people want to donate to the PAC, they certainly can.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday, the Spurs hosted a joint launch party at Idle Beer Hall and Brewing that drew a who\u2019s who of San Antonio business leaders and politicos.<\/p>\n

\"\"Manu Gin\u00f3bili takes the stage at the \u201cWin Together\u201d campaign kickoff rally. Credit: Blaine Young for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\"\"San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo CEO Cody Davenport at Saturday\u2019s rally. Credit: Blaine Young for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\"\"Ron Nirenberg greets attendees at the Spurs\u2019 campaign kickoff event. Credit: Blaine Young for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Former Mayor Ron Nirenberg was in attendance, along with Councilmembers Marc Whyte (D10) and Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), for a party that featured Spurs\u2019 DJ Quake and the hype squad, craft brews and cocktails and photo ops with rodeo horses.<\/p>\n

Flyers, T-shirts, campaign signs and even Manu Gin\u00f3bili repeated the Spurs\u2019 mantra that\u00a0taxpayers won\u2019t pay a thing<\/a>\u00a0for the new arena \u2014 something arena critics say misconstrues a\u00a0very complicated public financing structure<\/a>\u00a0that does actually involve property taxes.<\/p>\n

The groups urging \u2018vote no\u2019 on Spurs arena<\/p>\n

Defending Public Money for Public Good PAC<\/p>\n

The COPS\/Metro Alliance, a faith-based group that opposes putting public dollars toward private development, formed this PAC<\/a> to campaign against<\/a> just Prop. B \u2014 the $311 in county money that could be designated for the Spurs arena.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s staying neutral on Prop. A, the East Side venues.<\/p>\n

COPS\/Metro started in San Antonio in 1974 but now has chapters across the country. The group\u2019s work is funded primarily by dues from member organizations, including churches and unions.<\/p>\n

Local COPS\/Metro leaders formally launched their campaign against Prop. B on Sunday at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, where they invited stadium finance experts to break down the Spurs\u2019 term sheet<\/a> to a crowd of roughly 400 people.<\/p>\n

Their strategy is focused on highlighting other potential uses<\/a>\u00a0for the public money, such as flood infrastructure and shoring up a city budget deficit.<\/p>\n

Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has been among their biggest allies, but did not attend their kickoff due to concerns about\u00a0legal prohibitions surrounding<\/a>\u00a0campaign activity.<\/p>\n

\"\"San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones calls for a pause in negotiations. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\"\"Graciela Sanchez leads a No! Project Marvel protest. Credit: Diego Medel \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\"\"COPS\/Metro Alliance leader Father Jimmy Drennan speaks at City Hall. Credit: Amber Esparza for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

No! Project Marvel<\/p>\n

This group has been campaigning against both the proposed Spurs arena and surrounding development plans \u2014 known as Project Marvel \u2014 since before they were even unveiled at City Hall<\/a> last November.<\/p>\n

No! Project Marvel has a stated goal<\/a> of opposing the arena district on the Nov. 4 ballot. It doesn\u2019t have a PAC, but its members meet every Saturday.<\/p>\n

Local climate organizer Annalisa\u00a0Peace said that she and King William resident Anne Alexander spearheaded the group after learning about the downtown development plan from neighborhood meetings last summer.<\/p>\n

Out of frustration with the city\u2019s lack of public input, the pair personally paid to print several hundred yard signs expressing their discontent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just saying, \u2018Hey, we can\u2019t do anything [to stop this].\u2019 So we got the signs printed,\u201d Peace said. \u201cThen they started going up all over the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The movement quickly grew to include neighborhood activists, housing organizers. As demand for its signs grew, people started paying to print their own batches to distribute to their neighbors.<\/p>\n

Many of its members were involved in the Conservation Society\u2019s unsuccessful fight to stop the removal of the UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures<\/a> \u2014 where the arena is expected to be built, and plans to move a city-owned water utility plant<\/a> to make way for Project Marvel.<\/p>\n

How to vote on Prop. A & B<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An otherwise sleepy, off-year November election is about to get a lot more attention. Political Action Committees (PACs)…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":220626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5133],"tags":[5229,7288,58248,21469,120168,13123,120169,120170,7202,120171,3138,7203,40723,358,7453,3187,7815,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,75585,20705],"class_list":{"0":"post-220625","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-bexar-county","10":"tag-city-of-san-antonio","11":"tag-mayor-gina-ortiz-jones","12":"tag-nov-4-election","13":"tag-project-marvel","14":"tag-prop-a-b","15":"tag-props-a-and-b","16":"tag-san-antonio","17":"tag-san-antonio-rodeo","18":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","19":"tag-sanantonio","20":"tag-spurs-arena","21":"tag-texas","22":"tag-top-story","23":"tag-tx","24":"tag-typedaily","25":"tag-united-states","26":"tag-united-states-of-america","27":"tag-unitedstates","28":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","29":"tag-us","30":"tag-usa","31":"tag-venue-tax","32":"tag-wc-750-1000"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115190858340264605","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}