Southeast Side Resident Vows to “Work for you, with you”

Angela Cardona is a proud Highlands High School graduate and a native to the Southeast side of San Antonio. It’s her strong sense of community leadership and love for the Southside which motivated her to take the plunge and submit her application as a candidate for City Council, District 3 after being asked repeatedly by friends and neighbors prior to this opportunity.

Cardona was raised in District 3, and grew up with close family ties to her parents and siblings. From a very young age, Cardona has always been driven with an independent streak. While her siblings left the family home to marry and raise families of their own, she left home in pursuit of a science degree. “I was actually the first to leave home for college and not for marriage”, she shared, “At 17, I left for Kingsville, Texas to study geology with a goal of becoming a meteorologist ”. At the beginning of  her senior year, she opted to relocate to Fort Hood where her military fiancé was stationed. After marriage and eventual divorce, she returned to San Antonio and when it came to decide where to live, it was an easy choice. She happily returned to her beloved neighborhood. Now facing life as a single mother, she came up with a game plan to provide for her son: obtain a college degree.  After taking a few classes at St. Philips College and SAC, she enrolled in UTSA business school and was attending night classes while her family  helped keep watch over her son. Soon, after nearly starting over with a new degree plan, she once again reached her final year of college.

During an advising session with a professor, she was informed she would need to complete an internship prior to graduating. As such, she applied for an internship with The Gap regional office. “Almost immediately, I was contacted by a regional manager for the company”, she recalled, “Because I had a near college degree and previous leadership work experience, I ended up being offered a store manager position available in San Antonio, which I accepted”. With new responsibilities as a manager, she began to realize that attending night classes and working full time wasn’t the best option for her family. “My parents and my sisters were amazing support for my son,  but being away from him during those long days was difficult”, she stated, “Once again, I placed college plans on hold”. The break, however, was short lived and when she discovered Our Lady of the Lake University was offering weekend classes, she jumped at the opportunity. “I spent 3 years going to school on the weekends while balancing retail hours and family life. 10 years from my first college start,  I finally graduated with my bachelor’s degree”, she shared. Even after  obtaining a degree, the road was still not clear from hurdles.

As with most new college graduates, the job market is not as promising as one hopes. “It was a challenge finding employment that was outside of my established retail background, there were several in-between jobs, at times two part-time jobs and sometimes, no job”. She would eventually find her way back to school, this time to  obtain her master’s degree from St. Mary’s University. “Taking this leap during one of my more difficult times of my life, was really the catapult that landed me in this arena”.  She earned a coveted internship at the San Antonio mayor’s office where she was able to put her passion for community service to work.

Per her website, Cardona has “held various leadership roles in both the private and public sectors, to include experience as a retail and office manager” She ended her time at the District 3 City Council Office as Chief of Operation and Strategic Initiatives and moved on to the City as a Zoning Planner with the Development Services Department, where she worked with Neighborhood Associations and small businesses across the city navigate the zoning process. She has also always remained active in her community by volunteering in her neighborhood association, Family Assistance Crisis Team (F.A.C.T) and serving on the board of Hispanas Unidas, a non profit focused on the advancement of Latina women and girls in San Antonio’s west and southside. Her strong community involvement makes her the ideal candidate for the people in District 3,  as she has first hand knowledge of  the urgent needs within her district and experience as a City Council staffer  in creating programs to help address the issues on the Southside. Cardona can get to work on Day 1.

“I realized that I am a connector”, she explained, “I was able to use my position and my talents to connect people in my community with resources to help them”. While working on council, Angela accomplished many victories for the southside. She is the Co-founder of the District 3 Legacy Leadership Initiative which highlights civic engagement and mentorship opportunities among our youth and was instrumental in rezoning a large area of Hot Wells Neighborhood boundaries and the Easter Triangle Community Plan, helping preserve the development patterns in the area. Angela has also proven she can bring fresh ideas to the table. It was her leadership that created the PAWtrol Program for Responsible Pet ownership at Harlandale ISD elementary schools and coordinated district wide health programs, such as Jump Into Fitness, the annual family 5 K’s,  backpack giveaway’s and senior holiday parties.

With all of this in mind, this past October 2020, the seed previously planted in her mind began to bloom and she gave serious thought to the notion. It wasn’t until January 2021 that she ultimately decided to run for office. “Our community is recovering from unprecedented times, with my personal journey and work history, it was hard to deny   that my experience could lend something to help our greater community”, she said.  Angela plans to advocate for early childhood education and quality daycare so that working families have the opportunity to provide for their family while also allowing children to obtain quality education. “It is time to get back to basics and focus on the fundamental needs of our families and seniors in our community” Cardona stated,  “with an ability to bring an equitable approach in the distribution of streets, sidewalks and balance to the continued growth in development.” One of her top priorities is to help increase health and wellness by advocating and leveraging city resources that the community is not informed of. It is with outreach and community discussion that she will educate residents of the southside to access these resources. With her experience working to bridge the gap between economic development and community leaders she is well positioned to connect the dots for the workforce and small businesses to vital resources and programs.

“Our community deserves an advocate with experience in addressing the underlying issues that our community deals with daily. I have the background in City Hall to be an effective champion for issues with housing, health, infrastructure, economic and workforce development. I can get to work on Day 1. As your elected official, I will hold zero tolerance for last place! Our community will rise together”, says Cardona.

If elected to office Cardona vows to work for her community and with her community.

Early voting begins April 19 and will run through April 29. Election day is May 1.