Cynthia Brehm

Cynthia Brehm

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Cynthia Brehm was a candidate for District 8 representative on the San Antonio City Council in Texas. Brehm was defeated in the runoff election on June 10, 2017. In 2015, Brehm was a candidate for mayor of the city.

While the council is a nonpartisan body, Brehm self-identified as a conservative in Ballotpedia's 2017 candidate survey.

Biography

Brehm attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa for her undergraduate degree and St. Mary's University for a master's in public administration. As of April 2017, she had worked in marketing and advertising for 30 years. She had also worked as a master trainer for the U.S. Army.

Elections

2017

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

Runoff election

The city of San Antonio, Texas, held runoff elections for mayor and six of its 10 city council seats on June 10, 2017. Manuel Pelaez-Prada defeated Cynthia Brehm in the runoff election for the District 8 seat on the San Antonio City Council.

San Antonio City Council, District 8 Runoff Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Manuel Pelaez-Prada	55.07%	7,084
Cynthia Brehm	44.93%	5,780
Total Votes		12,864
Source: Bexar County, Texas, "June 10, 2017 Media Report," June 22, 2017

General election

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 8 seat on the San Antonio City Council.

San Antonio City Council, District 8 General Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Cynthia Brehm	33.39%	3,717
Manuel Pelaez-Prada	27.25%	3,034
Patricia Pliego Stout	20.89%	2,326
Anthony Valdivia	10.69%	1,190
Paul Martin	5.94%	661
Shane A. Hinze	1.83%	204
Total Votes		11,132
Source: Bexar County, Texas, "May 6, 2017 Media Report," May 18, 2017

Endorsements

As of April 18, 2017, Brehm had been endorsed by the following:

• Texas Leadership Institute
• San Antonio Family Association
• The Joshua Initiative
• Judeo-Christian Organization
• The Pastor's PAC

Click [show] on the right for information about other elections in which this candidate ran.

2015 See also: San Antonio, Texas municipal elections, 2015 The city of San Antonio, Texas, held elections for mayor and city council on May 9, 2015. A runoff election took place on June 13, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was February 27, 2015. All 10 city council seats were up for election. In the mayoral race, incumbent Ivy R. Taylor faced Paul A. Martinez, Douglas S. Emmett, Michael Idrogo, Raymond Zavala, Mike Villarreal, Tommy Adkisson, Leticia Van de Putte, Rhett Rosenquest Smith, Julie Iris Oldham, Cynthia T. Cavazos, Pogo Mochello Reese and Cynthia Brehm. Because no candidate received a majority of the votes in the general election, the top-two candidates—Taylor and Van de Putte—advanced to a runoff election on June 13. Taylor was the winner. Runoff election Mayor of San Antonio Runoff Election, 2015 Candidate Vote % Votes Ivy R. Taylor Incumbent 51.7% 50,662 Leticia Van de Putte 48.3% 47,331 Total Votes 97,993 Source: Bexar County Elections, "Official runoff election results," accessed September 15, 2015 General election Mayor of San Antonio General Election, 2015 Candidate Vote % Votes Leticia Van de Putte 30.4% 25,986 Ivy R. Taylor Incumbent 28.4% 24,247 Mike Villarreal 26.1% 22,247 Tommy Adkisson 9.8% 8,344 Paul A. Martinez 2.2% 1,877 Cynthia Brehm 1.8% 1,498 Douglas S. Emmett 0.3% 221 Michael Idrogo 0.3% 221 Cynthia T. Cavazos 0.2% 201 Raymond Zavala 0.2% 196 Rhett Rosenquest Smith 0.1% 111 Julie Iris Oldham 0.1% 103 Gerard Ponce 0.1% 97 Pogo Mochello Reese 0% 29 Total Votes 82,701 Source: Bexar County Elections, "Official general election results," accessed May 28, 2015

Campaign finance

2017

The table below lists campaign finance totals for the District 8 candidates as of reports available from the city of San Antonio following the May 3 filing deadline.

Campaign themes

2017

See also: Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey

Brehm participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	Transportation	”
—Cynthia Brehm (April 18, 2017)

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important: city services (trash, utilities, etc.), civil rights, crime reduction/prevention, environment, government transparency, homelessness, housing, K-12 education, public pensions/retirement funds, recreational opportunities, transportation, and unemployment. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important.

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue	Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Transportation	7	City services (trash, utilities, etc.)
2	Crime reduction/prevention	8	Housing
3	Public pensions/retirement funds	9	Recreational opportunities
4	Government transparency	10	Homelessness
5	Unemployment	11	Civil rights
6	Environment	12	K-12 education

Local topics

Ballotpedia asked candidates specific questions regarding recent issues in the city. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column.

Question	Response
What is your stance on the Vista Ridge water pipeline project?	I oppose it.
What policies should the city of San Antonio have regarding possession and use of marijuana?	Dr. Sanjay Gupta presented a documentary based on his extensive research that concluded that medicinal marijuana oils were beneficial to patients of cancer and epilepsy. I have also heard there are other diseases that it is proving to be beneficial to as well.it is for this reason that I support medicinal marijuana.
How should San Antonio’s government respond if the state legislature preempts the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance?	If the State premempts it, San Antonio doesn't have a choice, as San Antonio falls under the State Constitution and must comply.
Should local law enforcement in San Antonio consider immigration status in interactions with individuals? If yes, in what ways should that status be considered?	Since 911, our world has changed. There was a time where our local law enforcement enforced the law regardless of Who had jurisdiction. Crime is at an all time high in San Antonio. Couple that with all the immigrants that are here that no one can keep up with because there are hundreds of thousands of immigrants on top of the crime. How can anyone get anything done? If you suspect an illegal alien of being illegal, it's considered profiling, so you can't do that.Homeland Security was set up to interface with all departments within our government; whether local, state, or federal; but the job isn't getting done-- there's not enough manpower. Then you have the constant hemorrhage of illegals coming into our country daily. Lastly, there are terrorists coming in along with both the illegal aliens and the refugees. How can any department stop the bleeding?. SAPD says it's a federal issue. The Feds say, SAPD should be holding and profiling the illegal aliens. SAPD says their jails are overflowing and the Feds take too long in retrieving their criminal. So, SAPD releases the illegal alien back into the streets because it's costing the local taxpayers money to hold the illegal alien. What can be done? I'm sorry, I don't have an answer for you.

Nationwide municipal issues

The candidate was asked to answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions.

Question	Response
Is it important for the city’s budget to be balanced?Answer options: Not important; Not important, but required by state law; A little important; A little important, but required by state law; Important; Very important	Very important
Which level of government do you feel should set a minimum wage?Answer options: None, Local, State, Federal	Federal
What do you think is the best way to improve a city’s public safety? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Increased economic opportunities, Increased police presence/activity, Harsher penalties for offenders, Public outreach/education programs	Increased police presence/activity
How do you think your city should emphasize economic development? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Changing zoning restrictions, Create a more competitive business climate, Focusing on small business development, Instituting a citywide minimum wage, Recruiting new businesses to your city, Regulatory and licensing reforms, and tax reform	Focusing on small business development
What is the one thing you’re most proud of about your city?	Cultural history
What is the one thing you’d most like to change about your city?	Transportation

Brehm also stated in her survey response:

“	We need to require City Council to be present at all times during Citizens to be Heard, and they cannot be eating, or on their cell phones. Their cell phones must be off. COSA needs to pay SAFD/SAPD what they are worth, give them their benefits and move on. They are like our veterans, but they fight a different battle here on the homefront. They put themselves in the line of fire, between you and the criminal, and battle blazes to save lives. They deserve every penny they get.	”
—Cynthia Brehm (April 18, 2017)

See also

San Antonio, Texas	Texas	Municipal government	Other local coverage

External links

Suggest a link

• San Antonio, Texas
• Campaign website