Community Conversations at St. Mary’s hosted Mayor Julián Castro and former Mayor Henry Cisneros on March 18 for a discussion about “San Antonio Politics: Recent History and the Future.”

The duo explored the progress that annually puts the city near the top of the Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities rankings. They also analyzed how San Antonio might benefit from current improvement efforts. The conversation was moderated by Henry Flores, Ph.D., St. Mary’s University Professor of Political Science.

Community Conversations lectures are held on the St. Mary’s campus in the University Center, Conference Room A. The events are free and open to the public.

Castro, who grew up not far from St. Mary’s, is the youngest mayor of a top-50 American city. He also became San Antonio’s youngest city councilman in 2001 at the age of 26. During his years as mayor, he has pioneered efforts such as SA2020, CafeCollege and Pre-K 4 SA to harness young minds and create a prosperous future in our city.

Cisneros became the first Hispanic-American mayor of a major U.S. city in 1981. After serving four terms, he was appointed Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by President Bill Clinton. He went on to become President and COO of Univision Communications, and he currently is the Founder and Chairman of CityView, which invests in innovative urban projects.

The Community Conversations series is a part of the Institute for Public Administration, Politics and Public Policy at St. Mary’s University, which is housed within the St. Mary’s Graduate School. One of the primary goals of the Institute is to develop outreach programs that foster dialogue between the University, the public, government agencies and nonprofits to address important public issues.

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