2009 San Antonio mayoral election
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| Turnout | 11.61%  | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The San Antonio mayoral election of 2009 was held on May 9, 2009. The incumbent mayor Phil Hardberger was term-limited after serving two terms. The election was won by Julian Castro, who took office on June 1, 2009.
Announced candidates
- Lauro Bustamante
- Julian Castro, former City Councilman and 2005 mayoral candidate
- Diane Cibrian, City Councilwoman (District 8)
- Trish DeBerry-Mejia, PR consultant and small business owner
- Michael "Commander" Idrogo, perennial candidate
- Napoleon Madrid
- Sheila D. McNeil, City Councilwoman (District 2)
- Julie Iris Oldham, perennial candidate
- Rhett R. Smith, perennial candidate
Frontrunner status
After the deadline to file passed, four candidates (Castro, Cibrian, McNeil and DeBerry-Mejia) were considered the frontrunners in the race. Polls showed Castro ahead by big margins, and some polls showed Castro winning outright without need for a runoff election. Second place was highly contentious, with Cibrian and DeBerry-Mejia trading off for second place.
Election day
On May 9, 2009, the election for Mayor was held. Turnout was slightly higher in the May 2009 election than the May 2007 election, with 11.61% of registered voters casting a ballot in the 2009 election (as opposed to 10.16% in 2007). Also, more votes were cast during early voting than on election day (55,780 votes cast during early voting to 34,055 on election day.)
A majority of votes is required to win the office of Mayor of San Antonio. If no person earns a majority, the two top vote earners shall advance to a runoff election to decide. Mayoral elections are non-partisan.
| Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✓ | Julian Castro | 42,745 | 56.23% | |
| Trish DeBerry-Mejia | 22,031 | 28.98% | ||
| Diane G. Cibrian | 6,181 | 8.13% | ||
| Sheila D. McNeil | 2,962 | 3.90% | ||
| Rhett R. Smith | 715 | 0.94% | ||
| Lauro Bustamante | 441 | 0.58% | ||
| Julie Iris Oldham | 385 | 0.51% | ||
| Michael "Commander" Idrogo | 371 | 0.49% | ||
| Napoleon Madrid | 188 | 0.25% | ||
| Turnout | 76,019 | 9.83%* | ||
* Vote percentage only include votes for San Antonio Mayor. The remaining 1.78 percent in the election voted for different constituencies, or did not cast a vote for Mayor of San Antonio
