San Antonio Gets Its First African American Mayor, Will Succeed Julian Castro

San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor (sanantonio.gov)

The San Antonio City Council picked a new mayor to succeed its star alum, Julian Castro, who has moved into his post as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

With a 5-3 vote, the council picked Councilwoman Ivy Taylor, a Yale graduate who grew up in New York. Taylor, who is the city’s first African-American mayor, is to serve out the remainder of Castro’s term until May, 2015, according to published reports.

Castro, whose twin brother is Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, took more than 66.5 percent of the vote in his race against six challengers in the last mayoral election. In previous mayoral elections, he snatched 80 percent of the vote.

Julian Castro drew national attention when the White House chose him to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2012. He became the first Hispanic to give the keynote at the annual Democratic event. He started drawing attention to his political skills early, becoming a city councilman at the age of 26, and mayor at the age of 34.

Joaquin Castro, released a public statement congratulating Taylor on being interim mayor. He also gave kudos to his brother.

“I look forward to working with Mayor Taylor as we continue to fuel the momentum our city has achieved over the past couple of years,” said Castro. “I’m grateful for Julian’s hard work and dedication to our hometown over the past 13 years. San Antonio will always be Julian’s home, but I’m excited for our nation as he takes his vision and work ethic to our nation’s capital.”

As for the legacy that he hopes he is leaving behind, Julian Castro said to KENS 5 local television station: "First is helping our young people get a great education so they can reach their dreams. Secondly, helping to ensure that we have more economic opportunities and good jobs in San Antonio, and third that we've helped move the ball forward in improving the quality of life in San Antonio by revitalizing some of our older neighborhoods and sparking the decade of downtown."

For her part, Taylor has said she does not intend to run in 2015 for a full mayoral term, according to the local ABC News affiliate.

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