Candidates for Bexar County Democratic Party Chair Are Playing to Win
July 13, 2020 - Bexar County
Vying for victory. Candidates Monica Alcántara (left) and Grace Rose Gonzales are in the final hours of the race for Bexar County Democratic Party chair. Photos: Jade Esteban Estrada.
By Jade Esteban Estrada - Political columnist, San Antonio Sentinel
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Candidates Monica Alcántara and Grace Rose Gonzales are in a race for Bexar County Democratic Party chair
- In the March Primary, incumbent Monica Alcántara garnered 30% of the vote and Grace Rose Gonzales earned 27%
- Unlike nomination races, the candidate who wins the July 14 election is the new chairwoman
One of the races that has garnered the most attention over the past few months is the contest for Bexar County Democratic Party chair. Like its GOP counterpart, this race is unique in that the candidate who wins the election Tuesday will step into the role of chairperson.
The candidates are incumbent Monica Alcántara and challenger Grace Rose Gonzales. Tuesday night’s winner will be tasked with uniting a deeply divided local Democratic Party.
Fueling the flames of an election season where emotions are already high amid concerns over Covid-19 infection at the polls, both campaigns unleashed information about the opposing side; personal details that were disseminated by avid supporters. Unfortunately, these tactics, as you may have noticed, seem to have less of an effect in the Trump era.
Two years ago, first-term incumbent Alcántara, a litigation paralegal, won her race against longtime party head Manuel Medina.
Alcántara maintains that the current split in the local Democratic Party began before her arrival as chairwoman. Her theory is that those followers of Medina “felt harmed” when she was elected. “I really believed that if they had been able to meet me or have a sit-down, I believe that [they would have found that] their ideas and my ideas and what we’re all fighting for [are] the same,” she told me during an interview in April.
When it comes to lessons learned during her first administration, this nugget tops her personal list: “I’ve learned that our Democrats — we are a passionate group — and the positives in that is that we are passionate, and we want to fight for what is good and for the needs of our people. The downfall, sometimes, is that we are a passionate group.” She admits that that passion can be simultaneously amazing and terrifying. “As long as we focus on where that passion needs to be, then we’re all OK,” she said.
Her supporters are channeling that energy to help the chairwoman keep her seat.
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Her opponent is a local designer who has served on numerous local boards and commissions over the past 25 years. On Super Tuesday, Gonzales advanced to a runoff after winning 27% of the vote, just three points behind Alcántara. The success of her first-time candidacy reflects how much dissatisfaction resides in the divided local party.
Gonzales, who has a reputation among her peers as a problem solver, said she feels called to use her skill set to bring those sides together. She added that being organized as a party on the micro level is the only way to ensure that a Democrat wins the White House in November.
Her political mentor is former San Antonio Mayor Ed Garza, a man she believes deserves more praise for his vision for the future of San Antonio. She credits her conversations with him as the push that led her to take a more active role in local politics.
For starkly different reasons, both candidates have the potential to blossom in this role.
But let me be frank: Unless the winning candidate can convince these warring factions to call a truce, this position will continue to be a glorious two-year burden.
Runoff Election Day in Bexar County is Tuesday, July 14.
Jade Esteban Estrada is a political columnist at the San Antonio Sentinel. He can be reached at jade@sasentinel.com.