Nirenberg

Ron Nirenberg served as the mayor of San Antonio, the seventh largest city in the United States, from 2017 to 2025. He previously served on the San Antonio city council and worked in civic media and public policy. He is the Calgaard Distinguished Professor of Practice in the communication department at Trinity University and lives in San Antonio, Texas.

• ContentsSophiaWelcome to TexasThe World Is a Bigger PlaceThe Mayor of JazzMeet Your NeighborsThe City You DeserveBig City, Long ViewBack from the Brink  PandemicGetting it DoneReflections AcknowledgmentsImage Credits

"A compelling testament to leadership in crisis and grace under pressure. Ron guides the reader on his journey of success through personal adversity and unprecedented professional challenges emphasizing the imperatives of honesty, tenacity, compassion and faith. A dynamic must read for leaders of all organizations - large and small!"—Lt. Gen (retired) John R. Evans, Jr.“I had the chance to watch Mayor Ron lead with such intelligence and compassion, courage, and love, so it is no surprise to see all of that and more reflected in his book. That’s why we often held him up as an example. How those in leadership positions use their power matters, and Mayor Ron used his to expand opportunity, prioritize communities who had been left behind, and make life better for working people and their families. Thank you for showing us how it’s done.”— Julie Su, former U.S. secretary of labor"An engagingly candid account of the challenges, both personal and professional, of translating ideals into action in turbulent times in the nation’s seventh largest city."—Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director, Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania"This is an important book. It will find an audience that extends far beyond readers who are only interested in municipal affairs. Mayor Nirenberg uses his experiences as a successful mayor of San Antonio as a launching platform for discussions, and sometimes solutions, to problems that plague virtually all American cities. He has something to say that deserves to be heard. Read on." —Phil Hardberger former mayor of San Antonio"Ron Nirenberg takes us on a journey of a life well lived. He navigates us through the growing pains of both his personal and public life. These experiences shaped him into becoming one of America’s greatest and most effective mayors. The best part of it, he's not finished yet, and we will all be better for it. This book is a blueprint for what it takes to get things done when we do it together. It is a must read."—Mitch Landrieu, former lieutenant governor of Louisiana“The most effective mayors are pragmatists who focus on solving problems and building bridges. That’s Ron Nirenberg – and this book shows that both are possible."—Michael R. Bloomberg, founder, Bloomberg L.P. & Bloomberg Philanthropies"It’s tempting, in today’s hostile political climate, to think of political leaders as hyper-ideological, self-serving, or even mean-spirited.  But Ron Nirenberg’s story is a reminder that political leaders of today can still exemplify the best qualities of our beloved public servants of the past: empathy, pragmatism, and intellectual curiosity.  Ron’s is also the story of the new American dream: how a regular movie-loving, sports-addicted, video game-playing kid from the suburbs became mayor of one of America’s largest and most diverse cities – reminding us that ideological rigidity does not solve problems or help communities navigate crises, but compassion and compromise do. Nirenberg is a humanizing narrative that will inspire future leaders and remind us all how government can improve the lives of the people – through thoughtful public policy tied directly to the needs of the communities it serves."—Dannagal Goldthwaite Young Ph.D., author of Wrong: How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive our Appetite for Misinformation