I think the role of Mayor is similar–it’s about leadership, it’s about understanding our citizens’ needs and investing to address them.

That’s the type of strategic leadership experience our next mayor needs to lead our city forward, and that’s why I’m running to serve as San Antonio’s next mayor.

My journey has been a uniquely American story. My mom came to this country from the Philippines and raised me and my sister by herself. She served as a public education teacher for over 40 years, most of those years at Harlandale ISD with special needs students.

At times, we got by with the help of reduced school lunches and subsidized housing. I attended schools in San Antonio, including John Jay High School, that receive federal funding to help students in low-income families, and then went to college on an Air Force ROTC scholarship.

When I graduated, I was honored to serve as an intelligence officer in the Air Force and deployed to Iraq. During a surprise visit home, my mother told me that she had been diagnosed with colon cancer while I was deployed, and was already undergoing chemotherapy. Soon after, I separated from the Air Force and returned home to San Antonio to be by her side.

However, I remained committed to serving. I advised on military operations in Latin America while working at Fort Sam Houston, and joined the Defense Intelligence Agency as an inaugural member of U.S. Africa Command supporting missions across the continent.

Later, I served in the Executive Office of the President on issues at the intersection of our economic and national security. And, as the 27th Under Secretary of the Air Force, I oversaw a budget of over $173 billion and enacted reforms that will benefit countless current and future Airmen, Guardians, civil servants, and their families.

My mom raised my sister and me to find ways to give back to the community and country that had given us so much. It’s why my sister and I both joined the military, and it’s why I’ve worked as a public servant.

I’m living proof that good government can be a positive force to change lives. But, stories like mine are at risk. Families are having trouble affording groceries, schools like mine are at risk of losing their funding, and fundamental human rights are getting stripped.