Matthew Piña
Matthew Piña ran for election for Mayor of San Antonio in Texas. Piña lost in the general election on May 4, 2019.
Piña was a candidate for District 9 representative on the San Antonio City Council in Texas. Piña was defeated in the general election on May 6, 2017.
Piña described his political affiliation and philosophy in Ballotpedia's candidate survey, saying, "I am currently non partisan, however my political philosophical position can be summed up by John Locke, 'Being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.'"[1]
Biography
Piña was born on August 31, 1986. He attended the University of Texas at San Antonio, earning an associate degree, as well as an undergraduate and graduate degree in political science. Piña went on to work in political campaigning, as a research assistant, and as an operations director.[1]
Elections
2019
See also: Mayoral election in San Antonio, Texas (2019)
General runoff election
General runoff election for Mayor of San Antonio
Incumbent Ron Nirenberg defeated Greg Brockhouse in the general runoff election for Mayor of San Antonio on June 8, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ron Nirenberg (Nonpartisan) | 51.1 | 61,741 |
 | Greg Brockhouse (Nonpartisan) | 48.9 | 59,051 | |
| Total votes: 120,792 | |||
 = 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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General election
General election for Mayor of San Antonio
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of San Antonio on May 4, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ron Nirenberg (Nonpartisan) | 48.7 | 49,579 |
| ✔ | | Greg Brockhouse (Nonpartisan) | 45.6 | 46,414 |
 | John Velasquez (Nonpartisan) | 1.6 | 1,644 | |
 | Antonio Diaz (Nonpartisan) | 1.1 | 1,104 | |
 | Tim Atwood (Nonpartisan) | 1.0 | 1,026 | |
 | Matthew Piña (Nonpartisan) | 0.7 | 762 | |
| Bert Cecconi (Nonpartisan) | 0.6 | 573 | ||
 | Michael Idrogo (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 434 | |
| Carlos Castanuela (Nonpartisan) | 0.3 | 330 | ||
| Total votes: 101,866 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Texas Land Commissioner
Incumbent George P. Bush defeated Miguel Suazo and Matthew Piña in the general election for Texas Land Commissioner on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | George P. Bush (R) | 53.7 | 4,435,202 |
 | Miguel Suazo (D) | 43.2 | 3,567,927 | |
| Matthew Piña (L) | 3.1 | 258,482 | |
| Total votes: 8,261,611 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas Land Commissioner
Miguel Suazo defeated Tex Morgan in the Democratic primary for Texas Land Commissioner on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Miguel Suazo | 70.0 | 659,163 |
 | Tex Morgan | 30.0 | 282,387 | |
| Total votes: 941,550 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas Land Commissioner
Incumbent George P. Bush defeated Jerry Patterson, Davey Edwards, and Rick Range in the Republican primary for Texas Land Commissioner on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | George P. Bush | 58.2 | 857,398 |
 | Jerry Patterson | 29.7 | 437,535 | |
 | Davey Edwards | 6.8 | 100,763 | |
 | Rick Range | 5.3 | 77,623 | |
| Total votes: 1,473,319 | |||
| = 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
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 9 seat on the San Antonio City Council.[2]
| San Antonio City Council, District 9 General Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Marco Barros |
24.68% | 3,617 |
| John Courage |
22.39% | 3,281 |
| Patrick Von Dohlen | 19.21% | 2,815 |
| David Cohen | 7.65% | 1,121 |
| Patricia Gibbons | 7.42% | 1,087 |
| Lynlie Wallace | 7.40% | 1,085 |
| Sandra Martinez-Deyarmond | 4.38% | 642 |
| Bert Cecconi | 3.32% | 487 |
| Matthew Piña | 1.87% | 274 |
| Adam I. Goodman | 1.67% | 244 |
| Total Votes | 14,653 | |
| Source: Bexar County, Texas, "May 6, 2017 Media Report," May 18, 2017 | ||
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Matthew Piña did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
2017
Piña participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal government candidates.[3] The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Public Safety, Matt supports first responders and their efforts to make the city safe for all of us at great risk to themselves. He believes that everyone in the community should come together and discuss best practices so that any public safety plan is open, transparent, and accounts for the viewpoints of all affected, especially the opinion of those working in the frontlines. This will increase community bonds and allow us to honor those who risk their lives.[4] | ” |
| —Matthew Piña (March 28, 2017)[1] | ||
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 |
| Government transparency | Public pensions/retirement funds | ||
| Crime reduction/prevention | City services (trash, utilities, etc.) | ||
| Unemployment | Environment | ||
| Transportation | Homelessness | ||
| Civil rights | K-12 education | ||
| Housing | Recreational opportunities | ||
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 |
|---|---|
| It should be eliminated. It is a financial and environmental disaster.There are cheaper options that are much more viable. | |
| The city should lax the laws on possession. It is occupying the time of our officers and is jeopardizing public safety. For those who are concerned about heavy drug use keep in mind that good family values are the bonds that prevent our children from going down that path. Personal responsibility it key and the ONLY effective way to stop it. | |
| Locals should always have more control over what happens in their cities then central planners. The only vote that should matter is the vote of San Antonio Citizen's. | |
| The only thing that should be considered is whether the Law has been broken. As president Regan said "I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it, and see it still." |
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 |
|---|---|
| Very important | |
| None | |
| Increased economic opportunities | |
| Focusing on small business development | |
| It's heritage! San Antonio's strength comes from its various cultural backgrounds. We are a beacon to others for our strong dedication to service. | |
| I would want to create a better government designed to meet the needs of its citizens. For Democracy to be legitimate, authentic deliberation must precede it. Decision makers must be free from distortions of unequal political power. When they influence our policy makers, they destroy the foundation of society. A direct deliberative democracy requires us to discuss topics with everyone before deciding. People should vote directly on proposals, not for representatives. |
Piña also told Ballotpedia:
| “ | Are you sick of the politician that uses elected office for their own gain? We must seize this moment to make a difference in our community. President Reagan spoke of the shining city on a hill. A tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city that hums with commerce and creativity. This dream cannot happen without reinforcing the very foundation on which our great nation was built, liberty. We must reclaim the liberty to make the right decisions for our family, the freedom to support the organizations that match our values, and the choice to live with honor and fight for justice, for ourselves and in our communities.
San Antonio needs those who are willing to rise above their circumstances into positions of leadership. The world is in desperate need of those who show strength in difficult times. San Antonio was a place in this great nation where children could play in the street, fish at the lake, and enjoy the freedom to explore the world without fear. I know, because that’s what I experienced as a boy in San Antonio. That San Antonio seems to be fading away. Our population has grown beyond capacity, our streets are no longer safe, and job outlooks for young people are bleak. I’m lucky: my father along with the rest of my family gave me the tools and the foundation to thrive. It is those tools I want to pass along to the next generation to give youth an opportunity, and old age security. Join me. Our forefathers wanted us to have the freedom to help our fellow man at every opportunity. It’s moments like these where they wanted us to take a stand and make the choice to take personal responsibility. I’m running for City Council District 9 San Antonio. I need your help. Volunteer, donate, vote! Make a difference with me. Let’s make San Antonio into the shining city we know it can be.[4] |
” |
| —Matthew Piña (March 28, 2017)[1] | ||
See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey, 2017, "Matthew Piña's Responses," March 28, 2017
- ↑ City of San Antonio, "Candidate Listings," accessed February 21, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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