Henry Cisneros - Mayor of San Antonio

Mayor of San Antonio

Cisneros announced himself as an independent candidate for mayor in 1981. His campaigning of hopeful visions for the future of the city was able to unite the wealthy conservatives of San Antonio and the increasingly vocal Mexican American community. On April 4, 1981, Cisneros became, at age 33, the first Hispanic mayor of a major U.S. city, and the first Mexican-American mayor of San Antonio since 1842 when Juan Seguín resigned as mayor. He was elected with 62 percent of the vote. At the time of his election, San Antonio was the tenth largest city in the United States. He was reelected to three more terms as mayor by overwhelming margins, including winning an unprecedented 94.2 percent of the vote in 1983, a 73 percent margin of victory in 1985, and 67 percent in 1987. His popularity did not rest with San Antonio's Hispanic community alone, but with all ethnic groups in the area. In 1982, he was selected as one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Men of America" by the U.S. Jaycees, in addition to receiving a prestigious Jefferson Award for “Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under.”

Cisneros’ campaign for mayor and subsequent election gained the attention of national media who made Cisneros the symbol of the growing Latino population in the United States. According to Richard Garcia, “Cisneros, above all, exemplified the rise of the Mexican American generation and the search for … its identity.” He was positively profiled by such national publications as the Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Esquire and The New Yorker. U.S. News and World Report listed him (along with then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton) as one of “Ten Rising Stars of American Politics”, and a 60 Minutes profile introduced him to a televised national audience.

In his eight years as mayor of San Antonio, Cisneros attracted national attention for his success in developing new economic growth in the city's business sector, and with his diplomatic skills to 'promote cooperation' among the city's various ethnic groups. He exercised a developmental expansion strategy that led the city to unprecedented levels of economic and cultural growths. Cisneros brought federal monies to San Antonio that further developed the downtown business district. He courted Fortune 500 companies and technology firms to set up shop locally to create jobs, enlarge the city’s reserves with local business taxes, and to cement San Antonio’s reputation as a leading city for technology, skilled work and economic output. His efforts brought additional investments to San Antonio, such as luring Sea World and Fiesta Texas, two major theme park tourist attractions. In his signature accomplishment, Cisneros convinced the city’s residents to vote for the city-financed construction of the Alamodome. He also paved the way for Pope John Paul II to visit San Antonio during the pontiff’s 10-day tour to the United States in September 1987. More than one million people saw the Pope during his 22-hour visit to San Antonio, more than any other city on that 10-day tour. Cisneros’ mayoral success for elevating San Antonio’s reputation and economic base as a leading city in the nation led to Texas Monthly in 1999 naming him its Texas Mayor of the Century. The publication pointed to such achievements as a downtown riverfront redevelopment that drew tourists from far and wide and contending that he had "changed San Antonio's image from a poor and somewhat sleepy town to a culturally and economically vibrant model for the future of urban America." During Cisneros’ tenure as mayor, San Antonio was named an All American City for 1982–83, a prestigious honor awarded by the National Civic League.

Throughout his mayorship, Cisneros continued to live in the small house that once belonged to his grandfather in the city’s west side. He populist positions on issues that favored the poor and the working class. Cisneros also funneled more than $200 million to the city's long neglected Hispanic west side for streets, gutters, libraries, and parks. His improvements also alleviated that area’s long standing flooding and drainage problems. Cisneros' ties to business also helped him establish an education partnership that brought together the city, the local colleges and universities, local business, and various community organizations. This partnership provided financial aid for college to young people in the poorest school districts of San Antonio.

The national visibility Cisneros gained as mayor of San Antonio led to President Ronald Reagan appointing him in 1983 to the Bipartisan Commission on Central America, chaired by Henry Kissinger. In 1984, Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale tapped Cisneros as a finalist for the vice presidential nomination, which eventually went to U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro. Cisneros was selected to give the highly visible “Platform Presentation” at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco on July 17, 1984. His viability as a national leader was confirmed in 1985 when Cisneros was elected president of the National League of Cities. In 1986, City and State Magazine selected him as the “Outstanding Mayor” in the nation. A scholarly study of America’s mayors, The American Mayor, ranked Cisneros as one of the 15 best mayors in the nation in a period that spanned the 20th century. He was consistently touted as senatorial and/or gubernatorial material throughout his tenure as mayor, and was identified positively by both conservatives and liberals. In Señor Alcalde ("Mr. Mayor"), John Gillies wrote: "He tried to avoid a political label, such as Democrat or Republican, because he wanted to consider the needs of all of San Antonio's groupings.... He formed a bridge between conservatives and liberals..."

In 1987, Cisneros announced he would not seek a fifth two-year term as mayor and would leave public life after completing his current term as mayor. Several factors contributed to his decision. The same year, his son, John Paul Anthony, named for the pope, was born with congenital asplenia syndrome; instead of the normal four chambers, the heart functioned as if it had only two. As a result, the blood that cycled through the baby’s system was poorly oxygenated and threatened to flood his lungs as the heart grew. The condition also meant the child was born without a spleen and was 50 times more likely to contract a fatal infectious disease. Cisneros desired to devote more time with his ailing son, whose doctors had given roughly six years to live and whose life would be filled with major surgeries. When John Paul reached his sixth birthday in 1993, Cisneros told Sophfronia Scott Gregory in Time Magazine of his son's ongoing fight for life: "Nothing in my life has prepared me for this."

Cisneros was one of the lowest paid major city mayors in the country, with a $4,500-per-year stipend, and had supplemented his income by speaking fees and teaching urban affairs and government at Trinity University in the Department of Urban Studies. Facing huge medical bills, along with two daughters rapidly approaching college age, Cisneros also hoped to make more money in private industry. Another motivation, however, was the imminent disclosure of an ongoing extramarital affair between Cisneros and his chief campaign fundraiser, Linda Medlar. Opting not to subject his marriage and family to continued stress and scrutiny, Cisneros left public life and reconciled with his wife.

In 1989, Cisneros left public office and became chairman of the Cisneros Asset Management Company, a national asset-management investment firm that managed $550 million in fixed-income accounts. During this period, he hosted Texans, a one-hour television show produced quarterly in Texas, and Adelante, a national daily Spanish-language radio commentary. He also served as deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and until he was named Secretary of HUD, he served as a board member of the Rockefeller Foundation, chairman of the National Civic League and chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Construction of San Antonio's Alamodome. In 1990, citizens urged Cisneros to run for Governor of Texas, but chose to stay close to home to spend as much time as possible with his family. At the time, doctors did not know if surgery could correct John Paul’s heart problem. Cisneros’ collaboration with his wife in caring for John Paul — who later recovered to flourish in school after several major surgeries — brought the two back together. In 1991, VISTA Magazine awarded him with its Hispanic Man of the Year honor.