Gina Ortiz Jones

Gina Maria Ortiz Jones (born February 1, 1981) is an American politician and U.S. Air Force veteran serving as the 184th mayor of San Antonio, Texas, since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as Under Secretary of the Air Force from 2021 to 2023.

Jones was the 2018 Democratic nominee for Texas's 23rd congressional district, narrowly losing to the incumbent Republican Will Hurd. She ran again as the nominee for the seat in 2020, losing to Tony Gonzales in the general election. After her second loss, she served as Under Secretary of the Air Force in the Biden administration from 2021 to 2023.

She ran for mayor of San Antonio in the 2025 election, winning in a runoff. She is the first Asian-American female mayor of a major city in Texas, the first openly lesbian mayor of San Antonio, and the first female mayor in Texas to have served in war. Jones is also the first mayor since 2005 to have not previously served on San Antonio's city council.

Early life and education Born on February 1, 1981, in Arlington, Virginia, Jones grew up in San Antonio, Texas, as a first-generation American daughter of a single mother, Victorina Ortiz, an Ilocano from Pangasinan, Philippines. Her mother emigrated to the U.S. and earned a teaching certificate. Jones has a younger sister, Christi Ann.

Jones graduated from John Jay High School in 1999. allowing her to enroll at Boston University. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in East Asian studies and economics and a master's degree in economics jointly in 2003. A lesbian who came out to her mother at 15, Jones served under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, where she was at risk of losing her AFROTC scholarship if her sexual orientation was disclosed.

She later earned a master's degree in global and international studies from the University of Kansas in 2012 and another master's in military arts and sciences from the School of Advanced Military Studies at the United States Army Command and General Staff College in 2013. with the 18th Air Support Operations Group, supporting close air support operations. After three years of active duty and reaching the rank of captain, Jones returned to Texas in 2006, working for a consulting company while caring for her mother, who had colon cancer (from which she eventually recovered).

She then returned to working as an intelligence analyst for United States Africa Command in Germany. living in the house where she grew up.

Congressional campaigns 2018

In 2017, Jones was the first Democrat to announce a challenge Hillary Clinton won the district by three points in the 2016 United States presidential election and neither party had controlled the swing district for more than two consecutive terms since 2007.

Jones finished first in the March 6, 2018, Democratic primary, earning 41 percent of the vote in a field of five. A runoff election was held on May 22, which Jones won. She faced Hurd in the November 6 general election, in what was called the most competitive congressional race in the state. As of June 30, Jones had raised $2.2 million while Hurd had raised $2.4 million in addition to the $1.5 million with which he entered the race. With four months remaining, Jones was approaching the district's record for election fundraising by a Democrat ($2.7 million).

Jones was endorsed by EMILY's List, the Asian American Action Fund, the Equality PAC, and military veterans. A March 2018 Teen Vogue article noted that if elected, Jones would be "the first openly lesbian woman of color from Texas elected to Congress, as well as the first Iraq War veteran to represent Texas in Congress. She'd also be the first woman to represent Texas's 23rd Congressional district."

Jones said she believed health care reform would play a big role in the election. She and Hurd both broke fundraising records.

Jones lost to Hurd by 1,150 votes and conceded on November 19.

2020

In May 2019, Jones launched a second campaign for Texas's 23rd congressional district.

Under Secretary of the Air Force Jones meeting with members of the 433rd Airlift Wing at Joint Base San Antonio in 2021. Jones was confirmed as President Biden's Under Secretary of the Air Force by the Senate on July 22, 2021. She was the sixth woman to hold that title,

She resigned as under secretary in February 2023, effective March 6.

Find Out PAC Jones leads Find Out PAC, a political action committee seeking to defeat Texas Supreme Court justices Jimmy Blacklock, Jane Bland and John Devine, who were running for re-election in the 2024 Texas judicial elections, because of their decision in Cox v. Texas. All three justices were re-elected to 6-year terms. Blacklock was appointed Chief justice following his victory.

Mayor of San Antonio 2025 election

In December 2024, Jones announced her candidacy for the mayor of San Antonio, Texas. She joined a crowded field of candidates due to incumbent mayor Ron Nirenberg being term-limited. On May 3, 2025, Jones would advance to the runoff election after winning 27.2% of the vote. She received most of her campaign funding from out of state donors, and used funds from her previous congressional campaigns as an initial contribution. She won with 54.3% of the vote.

Tenure Jones was sworn in as mayor on June 18, 2025.

In February 2026, councilwoman Sukh Kaur filed a complaint with the City Attorney's Office, alleging that Jones shouted and cursed at her after a City Council meeting regarding the Bonham Exchange, a nightclub located in Kaur's district. After an independent investigation found that Jones had violated the City Council code of conduct regarding workplace harassment, she issued a public apology to Kaur and the other council members, stating that "I have a different set of experiences that allow me to view things a little bit differently than some of my colleagues." On February 27, the council voted 8–1 to formally censure Jones, believing that her actions in the incident had risen to the level of workplace violence.

Personal life Jones has a younger sister who is an intelligence officer in the United States Navy. She identifies as an Ilocano, a Filipino ethnolinguistic group.

In 2026, Jones was a recipient of the Torchbearer "Carrying Change" Awards' Illuminator Award.