The City Council race for San Antonio’s District 3 is shaping up as a battle between a possible new South Side political dynasty and one seeking redemption.
Phyllis Viagran wants to keep the Southeast Side seat in the family when her younger sister, Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran, leaves the position this summer after eight years — forced out by term limits.
Meanwhile, the tarnished Uresti dynasty is attempting another comeback as former state Rep. Tomas Uresti, brother of imprisoned former state Sen. Carlos Uresti, vies for the District 3 seat.
Phyllis Viagran and Tomas Uresti are among a still-forming slate of candidates jostling to fill the open seat, which represents a part of town that has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
District 3 has seen some of the highest coronavirus death rates in the city and the pandemic has laid bare gaps in access within the district to health care, the internet and jobs that can be done remotely for safety.
Among the topics on candidates’ minds so far: how to boost internet access for seniors and students, bring stimulus dollars to the district’s mom-and-pop businesses in the district and add jobs without fueling gentrification.
Viagran and Uresti face the task of defining themselves independently of their siblings.
For Viagran, who hasn’t held elected office, that largely means introducing herself.
For seven years, she was a civilian in the San Antonio Police Department’s domestic violence unit working with victims of family violence. After that, Viagran worked at Visit San Antonio, the public-private nonprofit that promotes the city to tourists and convention planners. She now works at Senior Planet, which teaches elders how to use technology, and sits on the board of the charitable arm of the Brooks Development Authority.
“We have the same last name, we have the same work ethic,” Phyllis Viagran said of her sister. “There are similarities. But I think at the end of the day, I’m a District 3 resident that’s going to bring a fresh perspective and that has the qualifications and has the knowledge of what the city does to get us through what we’re facing next.”
To read more, visit the San Antonio Express-News, where the article was originally published.