District 8, San Antonio City Council runoff election on June 7, 2025

Find more election coverage on the Vote 2025 page.

The two candidates vying for the District 8 City Council seat in the June 7 runoff enter the race with time spent in San Antonio and clear visions for the Northwest Side district.

Ivalis Meza Gonzalez and Paula McGee topped off the six-person race during the May 3 election.

McGee edged out Sakib Shaikh by 77 votes and managed to hold off Gonzalez from receiving the 50% majority needed to prevent the runoff, though she did clear McGee by 18 percentage points.

Nonetheless, the two candidates will face off on June 7 for the council seat vacated by Manny Pelaez, who lost his bid for San Antonio mayor and reached the maximum of eight years.

The district includes the Medical District and stretches toward Boerne along Interstate 10.

BACKGROUND

Gonzalez has worked at the San Antonio River Authority and most recently served as Chief of Staff for the Office of Mayor Ron Nirenberg; she left the latter in December 2022, according to her LinkedIn.

“We’re ready to hit the ground running and represent the residents of District 8,” Gonzalez said during the May 3 election. “I know this community. I care about this community. I’m raising my kids here.”

Gonzalez cited public safety, economic development and improving infrastructure as top issues in District 8. She also expressed an interest in implementing more traffic-calming mechanisms, such as speed bumps and stop signs.

McGee, speaking with TheTXLoop after the May 3 results came in, said she and her team would work “very hard” when preparing for the runoff.

McGee, a practicing attorney, has served on the San Antonio Zoning Commission, the Ethics Review Board and the Alamo Colleges Foundation board.

Like her opponent, McGee touts public safety and infrastructure as top issues for her constituents. Moreover, McGee feels proper management could help alleviate prolonged construction projects in the city.

“I wanna get in there and ask a lot of questions about how those (construction) contracts are being overseen,” McGee said. “We have to have construction because we need new infrastructure, but we need to manage it a lot better.”

Sign up for the free TheTXLoop election newsletter in the prompt below for a wrap-up of the results.

More election coverage from TheTXLoop