COVID-19 RESPONSE
COLLABORATION BEHIND THE CAMERA
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg ’99 guides the city through crisis San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg ’99 has
spent the better part of 2020 leading San Antonio through the coronavirus pandemic. As the city continues to fight COVID-19, Nirenberg prioritizes early communication to his primary constituency—the public—to keep their heightened alert from edging into panic. During frequent TV appearances nearly every night, both Nirenberg and Judge Nelson Wolff offer guidance about social distancing, admonitions against hysteria, and even stern warnings when these measures are not taken seriously. These briefings depend on clear and consistent information, which, Nirenberg says, requires more behind-the-scenes collaboration than people may understand. “There were difficult conversations about data transparency early on in the reporting of our numbers,” Nirenberg recalls. To get everyone on the same page, his office gathered together media,
8 Trinity University
public health officials, and public information professionals to devise a strategy for more accurately sharing data and information with journalists. “We implemented their recommendations,” Nirenberg says, “and now Bexar County is one of the leaders in access and transparency of data.” Nirenberg, a communication major at Trinity, was elected mayor of San Antonio
“THE OVERALL MISSION OF A LEADER IS TO PROVIDE HOPE. IN FACT, THAT’S PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT MISSION.”
in June 2017 after serving two terms as a city council member. Before COVID-19 had entered anyone’s vocabulary, he was focused on combating historical inequality and generational poverty in the city. This inequality and poverty is now entangled in the pandemic, pushing already vulnerable families past their breaking points. “[These disparities] have been exacerbated by the fact that even meager paychecks have stopped coming in during this crisis,” says Nirenberg. He cites issues including the digital divide, food and housing insecurity, lack of access to transportation, and the struggle to earn a living wage. In July 2020, when the city was facing rising numbers of positive cases, Nirenberg stressed to his citizens that San Antonio will persevere. “The overall mission of a leader is to provide hope,” Nirenberg says. “In fact, that’s probably the most important mission.”
