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Melissa Cabello Havrda

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Melissa Cabello Havrda
Image of Melissa Cabello Havrda

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Mayor of San Antonio

San Antonio City Council District 6
Tenure

2019 - Present

Term ends

2025

Years in position

5

Predecessor
Elections and appointments
Last elected

May 6, 2023

Next election

May 3, 2025

Contact

Official website

Official Twitter

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn 

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Melissa Cabello Havrda is a member of the San Antonio City Council in Texas, representing District 6. She assumed office on June 19, 2019. Her current term ends on June 1, 2025.

Havrda is running for election for Mayor of San Antonio in Texas. She is on the ballot in the general election on May 3, 2025.[source]

Biography

Cabello Havrda was an attorney and realtor. She received bachelor's degrees in political science and government and sociology from St. Mary's University, an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a J.D. from St. Mary's University.[1]

2025 battleground election

See also: Mayoral election in San Antonio, Texas (2025)

Ballotpedia identified the May 3, 2025, general election as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.

Twenty-seven candidates are running in the nonpartisan general election for mayor of San Antonio, Texas, on May 3, 2025. Beto Altamirano, John Courage, Adriana Garcia, Melissa Cabello Havrda, Gina Ortiz Jones, Rolando Pablos, Manny Pelaez, and Clayton Perry are notable candidates based on media attention, polling, and endorsements.

Incumbent Ron Nirenberg, elected in June 2017, is term-limited. Though the office is nonpartisan, Nirenberg is a Democrat. He joined the party after being an independent in 2024.[2]

This is the city's first mayoral election in 16 years without an incumbent on the ballot.[3] In San Antonio, one candidate must win at least 50% of the vote to be elected outright. If no candidate does so on May 3, the top two finishers will advance to a June 7, 2025, runoff election.

Heading into the election, the San Antonio Report said the new mayor and city council would need to navigate "multiple city-shaping economic development efforts like a downtown stadium for the Missions baseball team and a possible relocation of the Spurs to Hemisfair ... [as well as] challenges of housing affordability, public safety and infrastructure, to name a few."[4]

A University of Texas at San Antonio poll released in March 2025 had Ortiz Jones and Courage polling at 9% and 8%, respectively, while Pelaez, Cabello Havrda, Altamirano, Garcia, and Perry all polled between 3% and 6%. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 3.8% and 683 likely voters responded.[5] According to KENS 5, "One of the main takeaways from the survey is that many voters are not sure who they support or don't know who is running just two months out from the election. About 35% of voters are undecided and 20% are unfamiliar with any of the 27 candidates running."[6]

According to the San Antonio Report, Courage, Garcia, Cabello Havrda, and Pelaez "have relatively liberal social views and a pro-business ideology."[7] Altamirano and Ortiz Jones are affiliated with the Democratic Party, while Pablos and Perry have identified themselves as conservative candidates.

In San Antonio's mayoral election, lawmakers, former judges, and organizations have made notable endorsements, including: Progressive Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez for Cabello Havrda; former Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff (D) for Altamirano; Gov. Greg Abbott-affiliated PAC, The Texas Economic Fund, for Pablos; and Emily's List and Annie's List for Ortiz Jones.[8][9][10][11]

Below are the notable candidates:

  • Altamirano is the CEO and co-founder of Irys Technologies, an artificial intelligence company.[12] He said his top priorities are "ensuring the safety of all residents, maintaining and growing our infrastructure, and creating economic conditions that provide opportunities for everyone to work and provide for their families."[13]
  • Courage was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2017, representing District 9. He said his top priorities are "overseeing the installation of baby boxes at fire stations; creating a 'participatory budgeting' process that allows for more residents to have a say in how dollars are spent; and an initiative to help San Antonians reduce their medical debts with the help of a national nonprofit."[14]
  • Garcia was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2019, representing District 4. She is also an assistant professor of marketing at Our Lady of the Lake University.[15] Garcia said she will focus on fiscal issues and crime.[16]
  • Cabello Havrda was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2019, representing District 6. She is also an attorney and realtor. She said her top priorities are "lowering taxes, creating jobs, supporting public safety, and increasing housing options for all San Antonians."[17]
  • Ortiz Jones served as undersecretary of the Air Force (2021-2024) in the Biden administration. She said she will focus on working families and young people, and will "work to bring down costs where we can, make smart investments in our future, and respect taxpayers by increasing transparency around how tax dollars are spent."[18]
  • Pablos served as Texas secretary of state from 2017 to 2018. He said his priorities are public safety, better-paying jobs, small businesses, government accountability, and basic city services such as affordable utilities, walkable neighborhoods, and enhanced drainage systems and garbage collection.[19]
  • Pelaez was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2017, representing District 8. He is also an attorney. Pelaez said he will help find "innovative solutions for crime, the increasing cost of living, homelessness, unreasonably high taxes, and a job market that excludes too many San Antonians."[20]
  • Perry served on the San Antonio City Council from 2017 to 2023, representing District 10. According to the San Antonio Report, Perry said he was running because "'there’s a conservative yearning here in San Antonio' among people who are fed up with crime and other quality of life issues, such as the overall 'dirtiness' of the city."[21]

San Antonio, which is the seventh most populous city in the country as of March 2025, has a council-manager system, meaning the mayor represents one of 11 votes on the city council. The mayor and city council appoint a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.[2][22][23]

Elections

2025

See also: Mayoral election in San Antonio, Texas (2025)

General election

The general election will occur on May 3, 2025.

General election for Mayor of San Antonio

The following candidates are running in the general election for Mayor of San Antonio on May 3, 2025.

Candidate
Image of Beto Altamirano
Beto Altamirano (Nonpartisan)
Image of Santos Alvarado
Santos Alvarado (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
Image of John Courage
John Courage (Nonpartisan)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Armando Dominguez (Nonpartisan)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Arturo Espinosa (Nonpartisan)
Image of Adriana Garcia
Adriana Garcia (Nonpartisan)
Image of Brandon Gonzales
Brandon Gonzales (Nonpartisan)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
April Guadarrama (Nonpartisan)
Image of Melissa Cabello Havrda
Melissa Cabello Havrda (Nonpartisan)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Chris Herring (Nonpartisan)
Image of Jade McCullough
Jade McCullough (Nonpartisan)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
James Melvin (Nonpartisan)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Robert Melvin (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
Image of Gina Ortiz Jones
Gina Ortiz Jones (Nonpartisan)
Image of Rolando Pablos
Rolando Pablos (Nonpartisan)
Image of Manny Pelaez
Manny Pelaez (Nonpartisan)
Image of Clayton Perry
Clayton Perry (Nonpartisan)
Image of Christopher Reyes
Christopher Reyes (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Bill Ruppel (Nonpartisan)
Image of Robert Salinas
Robert Salinas (Nonpartisan)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Michael Samaniego (Nonpartisan)
Image of Mauricio Sanchez
Mauricio Sanchez (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Sonia Traut (Nonpartisan)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Diana Uriegas (Nonpartisan)
Image of Andrew Vicencio
Andrew Vicencio (Nonpartisan)
Image of Tim Westley
Tim Westley (Nonpartisan)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Gerardo Zambrano (Nonpartisan)

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.

Election campaign finance

Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the City of San Antonio. Click here to access those reports.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[24][25][26]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

Endorsements

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Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2023

See also: City elections in San Antonio, Texas (2023)

General election

General election for San Antonio City Council District 6

Incumbent Melissa Cabello Havrda defeated Irina Rudolph and Chris Baecker in the general election for San Antonio City Council District 6 on May 6, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Melissa Cabello Havrda
Melissa Cabello Havrda (Nonpartisan)
 
53.8
 
6,187
Image of Irina Rudolph
Irina Rudolph (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
35.0
 
4,030
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Chris Baecker (Nonpartisan)
 
11.2
 
1,292

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 11,509
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2021

See also: City elections in San Antonio, Texas (2021)

General election

General election for San Antonio City Council District 6

Incumbent Melissa Cabello Havrda defeated Irina Rudolph, Robert Hernandez, Robert Walker, and Chris Baecker in the general election for San Antonio City Council District 6 on May 1, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Melissa Cabello Havrda
Melissa Cabello Havrda (Nonpartisan)
 
55.5
 
6,899
Image of Irina Rudolph
Irina Rudolph (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
28.3
 
3,518
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Robert Hernandez (Nonpartisan)
 
7.8
 
965
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Robert Walker (Nonpartisan)
 
4.8
 
599
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Chris Baecker (Nonpartisan)
 
3.7
 
454

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 12,435
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2019

See also: City elections in San Antonio, Texas (2019)

General runoff election

General runoff election for San Antonio City Council District 6

Melissa Cabello Havrda defeated Andy Greene in the general runoff election for San Antonio City Council District 6 on June 8, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Melissa Cabello Havrda
Melissa Cabello Havrda (Nonpartisan)
 
57.0
 
6,648
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Andy Greene (Nonpartisan)
 
43.0
 
5,006

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 11,654
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

General election for San Antonio City Council District 6

Melissa Cabello Havrda and Andy Greene advanced to a runoff. They defeated Robert Herrera and Mario Adame in the general election for San Antonio City Council District 6 on May 4, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Melissa Cabello Havrda
Melissa Cabello Havrda (Nonpartisan)
 
47.0
 
4,415
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Andy Greene (Nonpartisan)
 
35.1
 
3,299
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Robert Herrera (Nonpartisan)
 
12.0
 
1,129
Image of Mario Adame
Mario Adame (Nonpartisan)
 
5.9
 
552

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 9,395
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2017

See also: Municipal elections in San Antonio, Texas (2017)

The city of San Antonio, Texas, held runoff elections for mayor and six of its 10 city council seats on June 10, 2017. Greg Brockhouse defeated Melissa Cabello Havrda in the runoff election for the District 6 seat on the San Antonio City Council.

San Antonio City Council, District 6 Runoff Election, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Greg Brockhouse 52.42% 4,709
Melissa Cabello Havrda 47.58% 4,274
Total Votes 8,983
Source: Bexar County, Texas, "June 10, 2017 Media Report," June 22, 2017

The city of San Antonio, Texas, held general elections for mayor and all 10 of its city council seats on May 6, 2017. Candidates had to earn a majority of the votes cast in this election to win. Any race where no candidate received a majority (50 percent plus one) of the general election votes cast for that position advanced to a runoff election on June 10, 2017. The following candidates ran in the general election for the District 6 seat on the San Antonio City Council.[27]

San Antonio City Council, District 6 General Election, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Greg Brockhouse 36.09% 3,064
Green check mark transparent.png Melissa Cabello Havrda 20.57% 1,747
Ricardo Treviño Jr. 20.24% 1,719
Joseph Cortez 17.83% 1,514
Don Page 1.87% 159
Robert Anthony Castaneda 1.63% 138
Eric Gosset 1.50% 127
Ropal Anderson 0.27% 23
Total Votes 8,491
Source: Bexar County, Texas, "May 6, 2017 Media Report," May 18, 2017

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Melissa Cabello Havrda has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Melissa Cabello Havrda, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 21,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Melissa Cabello Havrda to fill out this survey by using the button below.

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2023

Melissa Cabello Havrda did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Melissa Cabello Havrda did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Melissa Cabello Havrda did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2025 Elections

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Candidate

Mayor of San Antonio

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    Officeholder

    San Antonio City Council District 6

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ LinkedIn, "Melissa Cabello Havrda," accessed April 1, 2025
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Downballot, "Morning Digest: How the pick to replace Vance in the Senate upends Ohio's race for governor," January 20, 2025
    3. ↑ KSAT.com, "The San Antonio mayor and council races are set. Could the ballot order sway the outcome of a packed race?" February 24, 2025
    4. ↑ San Antonio Report, "The 2025 San Antonio Report Voter Guide is live! Use our guide to prepare your vote." March 13, 2025
    5. ↑ [https://colfa.utsa.edu/political-opinion/cpor_munivoterpoll_feb2025.pdf University of Texas at San Antonio Center for Public Opinion Research, "MAJORITY OF VOTERS UNDECIDED IN 2025 SAN ANTONIO MAYOR’S RACE, BUT GROUP OF SEVEN CANDIDATES EMERGE FROM THE PACK LED BY JONES, COURAGE, AND PELAEZ," accessed April 9, 2025]
    6. ↑ KENS 5, "Early poll for SA mayor race shows top candidates clustered around slim margins," March 4, 2025
    7. ↑ San Antonio Report, "Inside the expensive, ‘confusing,’ 27-candidate race to be San Antonio’s next mayor," April 2, 2025
    8. ↑ The San Antonio Observer, "Will Big Endorsements Sway City Voters in the 2025 Local Elections?" March 4, 2025
    9. ↑ San Antonio Report, "Greg Abbott has a PAC to shape local politics — including San Antonio’s mayoral race," March 18, 2025
    10. ↑ Emily's List, "EMILYs List Endorses Gina Ortiz Jones for San Antonio Mayor," February 11, 2025
    11. ↑ Annie's List, "2025 ENDORSED CANDIDATES," accessed March 22, 2025
    12. ↑ Beto Altamirano for Mayor, "Meet Beto," accessed March 22, 2025
    13. ↑ Beto Altamirano for Mayor, "Issues," accessed March 22, 2025
    14. ↑ KENS 5, "The race for San Antonio mayor: John Courage on returning to campaign against outside influence," March 18, 2025
    15. ↑ LinkedIn, "Adriana Rocha Garcia, Ph.D.," accessed March 22, 2025
    16. ↑ Adriana Rocha Garcia for Mayor, "San Antonio Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia Joins Mayoral Race, Focused on Fiscal Challenges and Crime Perception," accessed March 22, 2025
    17. ↑ Melissa for Mayor, "About," accessed March 22, 2025
    18. ↑ Gina Ortiz Jones for Mayor, "Priorities," accessed March 22, 2025
    19. ↑ Rolando Pablos for Mayor, "My Vision For San Antonio," accessed March 22, 2025
    20. ↑ YouTube, "Manny Pelaez for Mayor," April 9, 2024
    21. ↑ San Antonio Report, "Former Councilman Clayton Perry says he’s running for mayor in 2025," September 27, 2024
    22. ↑ City of San Antonio, "About Us," accessed September 2, 2021
    23. ↑ City of San Antonio, "City Charter," printed July 2021
    24. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
    25. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
    26. ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
    27. ↑ City of San Antonio, "Candidate Listings," accessed February 21, 2017

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