2025
Mayor Hughson: Elected in 2018, re-elected in 2020, 2022 and 2024 by large margins. Before that, she was on city council for a long time. She is a solid centrist. She is thorough and detail-oriented.
She is mostly dedicated to preserving the status quo. On topics that do not rock the boat, she’s open-minded and will be concerned with how a policy affects more vulnerable community members. But she does not really get how structural biases work and is not open to reforming anything.
She’s term-limited, so the Mayor seat will be open in 2026.
(Correction: Term limits only began in 2024, so she wouldn’t be term-limited anytime soon.)
Alyssa Garza: Elected in 2020, re-elected in 2023. For the past two years, she was been the lone progressive member of city council. Her role was to diplomatically raise awareness about structural issues, knowing that no one would vote for anything progressive, and then occasionally cash in her goodwill and push hard for specific issues, like funding for rental assistance and utility assistance.
She’s extremely competent and researches issues thoroughly. She has a sociologist background and generally understands that complex issues have complex causes, and delves into historical contexts and other relevant issues. I suspect she is kind of a workaholic.
Saul Gonzales: Elected in 2016, and re-elected in 2019 and 2022. Previously I described him as the silent councilmember. He’s speaking up slightly more now, but he’s still very hard for me to predict. He grew up here and now owns a lot of rental houses. What this means is that he’s often sympathetic towards poor and elderly San Marcos residents, but also landlords.
Lorenzo Gonzalez: Elected in a December 2024 run-off, by 9 votes! Literally has not had a meeting yet, as I’m writing this. He’s very new to San Marcos. He portrays himself as a progressive police officer (up in the Del Valle ISD). Really, it’s a matter of watching to see how he votes up on the dais before we can ascertain which way he leans.
Matthew Mendoza: Elected in November 2022. He is mostly conservative, pro-authoritarian, and NIMBY. He has long roots in the community.
Amanda Rodriguez: The new, electric progressive councilmember, elected November 2024. She’s very smart and very serious. She worked up in Austin, writing and promoting progressive legislation, and has a deep understanding of how governance works.
I am so excited about having Alyssa and Amanda up there, tackling issues in their very different ways, but both with a strong eye on social justice.
Shane Scott: Mostly libertarian, although sometimes all over the place. He likes quick, easy solutions and generally does not go more than an inch deep on complex topics.
At his best, he favors individual freedom and is skeptical of the police at times. At his worst, he wants to let developers do whatever they want and for liberals to stop yammering on for so long.
He was on Council 6-7 years ago, when they went on a rezoning bender and authorized giant apartment complexes all over the city, and royally pissed everyone off. He was voted out after that, then lost several bids to get back on, and was finally successful in November 2020. He was re-elected in 2023.
2024
Nobody changed from 2023, and I never bothered to update.
2023
Mayor Hughson: Elected in 2018, re-elected in 2020, and again in 2022 by a large margin. Before that, she was on city council for a long time. She is a solid centrist. She is extremely thorough and detail-oriented.
She is mostly dedicated to preserving the status quo. On topics that do not rock the boat, she’s open-minded and will be concerned with how a policy affects more vulnerable community members. But she does not really get how structural biases work and is not open to reforming anything.
Alyssa Garza: The lone progressive member of city council. She’s extremely competent and researches issues thoroughly. She has a sociologist background and generally understands that complex issues have complex causes, and delves into historical contexts and other relevant issues. I suspect she is kind of a workaholic.
She desperately needs other progressive allies on council, because right now her hands are tied. We’ve got to run some strong candidates. All she can do is patiently explain, over and over again, the problems and unintended consequences of business-as-usual.
Mark Gleason: Elected to finish a one year term in 2020, and then re-elected to a three year term in 2021. Solidly conservative. He did live in Blanco Gardens when it flooded in 2015, (and still does) and that seems to anchor his sympathy for the working class. But he is the biggest fan of authority and the police, and he has a tendency to go on dad-lectures as though we’re all a bunch of wayward teenagers.
Saul Gonzalez: Elected in 2016, and re-elected in 2019 and 2022. Previously I described him as the silent councilmember. He’s speaking up slightly more now, but he’s still very hard for me to predict. He grew up here and now owns a lot of rental houses. What this means is that he’s often sympathetic towards poor and elderly San Marcos residents, but also landlords.
Matthew Mendoza The newest council member, elected in November 2022. So far he seems to be taking his cues from Mark Gleason more than anyone else, which is kind of a bummer.
Jude Prather: Elected in 2020. He was on earlier, with Shane Scott, when they approved things like The Woods and generally infuriated the town, and he opted not to run for re-election then.
He has ties to SMPD via his wife, and was elected on a campaign to make San Marcos safe. He’s mostly conservative, but a little less preachy about it than Mark Gleason. He does sometimes try to find common ground across the aisle.
Shane Scott: Mostly libertarian, although sometimes all over the place. He likes quick, easy solutions and generally does not go more than an inch deep on complex topics.
At his best, he favors individual freedom and is skeptical of the police at times. At his worst, he wants to let developers do whatever they want and for liberals to stop yammering on for so long.
He was on Council 6-7 years ago, when they went on a rezoning bender and authorized giant apartment complexes all over the city, and royally pissed everyone off. He was voted out after that, then lost several bids to get back on, and was finally successful this past November 2020. Assuming he wants to run, he’ll be up for re-election in 2023.
2022
Mayor Hughson: Elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2020. Before that, she was on city council for a long time. She does not suffer fools. (Although she and Max Baker can get derailed arguing about some seriously petty stuff.)
She is very detail oriented and takes the time to understand issues. She is very good at updating her thinking when she gets an answer to a question.
Her big flaw is a vague suspicion of progressive ideas. For example, she voted against Cite & Release in 2020. She is basically a solid centrist.
Alyssa Garza: Has easily become the most competent councilmember. She researches items head and shoulders more thoroughly than anyone else. She has a sociologist background and generally understands that complex issues have complex causes, and delves into historical contexts and other relevant issues. I suspect she is kind of a workaholic.
Saul Gonzalez: The silent councilmember. He was elected in 2016, and was on P&Z before that.
He is a bit hard for me to predict, partly because he doesn’t speak his mind very often. Sometimes he sides with Shane Scott, sometimes with Max Baker.
Max Baker: The squeakiest wheel. Max picks every fight. He’s generally right, but maybe not the most amiable councilmember to get along with. He does his research thoroughly and generally knows what he’s talking about.
Shane Scott: Generally conservative, although sometimes all over the place. He likes quick, easy solutions and generally does not go more than an inch deep on complex topics.
He was on Council 6-7 years ago, when they went on a rezoning bender and authorized giant apartment complexes all over the city, and royally pissed everyone off. He was voted out after that, then lost several bids to get back on, and was finally successful this past November 2020.
He likes to postpone items that he doesn’t like, and other times plays the part of someone who finds all of this so massively tiring and boring that you wonder why he wants to be there so badly.
Mark Gleason: Kind of rambly and earnest. Sort of libertarian-conservative tendencies but also lived in Blanco Gardens when it flooded in 2015, and that seemed to anchor his sympathy for the working class. I’m suspicious that developers and other forces are whispering in his ear.
Jude Prather: Just got back on Council in November 2020. He was on earlier, with Shane Scott, when they approved things like The Woods and generally infuriated the town, and got thrown out together. He has ties to SMPD via his wife, and was elected on a campaign to make San Marcos safe. As of March, I can’t recall Jude taking any stands on anything particularly noticeable.
2021
Mayor Hughson: Elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2020. Before that, she was on city council for a long time. She runs meetings well and does not suffer fools.
She is very detail oriented and takes the time to understand issues. She is very good at updating her thinking when she gets an answer to a question.
Her big flaw is a vague suspicion of progressive ideas. For example, she voted against Cite & Release in 2020. She is basically a solid centrist.
Melissa Derrick: Has been on city council for as long as I’ve been paying attention. Generally a progressive ally who likes to find common ground and make progress there. Has done a lot of work with the Children’s Park and the Humane Society, off the top of my head. I have a high opinion of her. Very friendly and kind. Decided not to re-run in 2021.
Saul Gonzalez: The silent councilmember. He was elected in 2016, and was on P&Z before that.
He is a bit hard for me to predict, partly because he doesn’t speak his mind very often. Sometimes he sides with Shane Scott, sometimes with Max Baker.
Max Baker: The squeakiest wheel. Max picks every fight. He’s generally right, but maybe not the most amiable councilmember to get along with. He does his research thoroughly and generally knows what he’s talking about.
Alyssa Garza: The newest councilmember, as of November 2020. She’s getting her sea legs. She is mostly very progressive, and often has good things to say.
Shane Scott: Occasionally I have agreed with him! But it’s rare. Other times I roll my eyes. He was on Council 5-6 years ago, when they went on a rezoning bender and authorized giant apartment complexes all over the city, and royally pissed everyone off. He was voted out after that, then lost several bids to get back on, and was finally successful this past November 2020.
He likes to postpone items that he doesn’t like, and other times plays the part of someone who finds all of this so massively tiring and boring that you wonder why he wants to be there so badly.
Mark Gleason: Kind of rambly and earnest. Sort of libertarian-conservative tendencies but also lived in Blanco Gardens when it flooded in 2015, and that seemed to anchor his sympathy for the working class. I’m suspicious that developers and other forces are whispering in his ear.
The San Marxist 