Nirenberg: The Education of a Texas Public Servant

by Ron Nirenberg

The Education of a Texas Public Servant offers a compelling portrait of Ron Nirenberg’s eight-year tenure as mayor of San Antonio, the seventh largest city in the United States. From 2017 to 2025, Nirenberg guided the city through times of crisis and opportunity with a compassionate, pragmatic approach that defied partisan expectations and earned broad popular support. Winning six elections and numerous referenda, he became San Antonio’s longest-serving mayor since Henry Cisneros.

In this candid memoir, Nirenberg reflects on the formative moments that shaped his path to public service. Born to a multicultural family and raised in Texas, he overcame early obstacles and was driven by a sense of purpose from a young age. After completing his education, he worked on public policy initiatives across the country, collaborating with future leaders like Barack Obama and Cory Booker to inspire civic engagement among youth.

As mayor, Nirenberg guided San Antonio through the global Covid-19 pandemic, establishing a model of leadership that others throughout the country emulated. He also led the city out of a devastating winter storm that shut down the entire state and compassionately dealt with the aftermath of public outrage in response to the murder of George Floyd. His vision for growth in San Antonio, a city poised to become a cultural and economic hub in Texas, turned thought into action as he led the way in creating nationally recognized initiatives in workforce development, affordable housing, education, and equity-driven city planning.

At a time of rising polarization and political uncertainty, Nirenberg is both a hopeful call to civic action and a behind-the-scenes account of how to lead with integrity and impact in today’s challenging political landscape.
 

280 pages, Hardcover

Published March 24, 2026

Reviews

[Kathleen Kelley]

Being from San Antonio, I was surprised when I saw our former mayor had written a memoir. I decided to give it a read as I had always liked Ron Nirenberg when he was our mayor. The story gives a great behind the scenes peak into his family life, his early journey bringing him to the point of running for city council in my district, and from there on to being our mayor for the full term limits allowed by law. I appreciated all the behind the scenes provided and the difficulty encountered in campaigning and ultimately winning his city council seat and then his subsequent terms as mayor. Being a lifelong resident of San Antonio, I enjoyed reading about all the programs he implemented and how he guided us through the COVID pandemic, and the "snowmageddon" storm where everyone was without power. I learned a lot about the inner workings of my city and appreciated Ron's convictions in making his family proud and trying to leave San Antonio in a better place with an upward trajectory as he leaves office. I wish him well and thank him for his service. I anticipate he will soon be our next county judge where hopefully he can continue on with his vision for San Antonio.

[Doug McMurry]

You don’t have to live in San Antonio to enjoy this well-written memoir, but it helps. It providers lots of insights into public policy and should be a “must read” before embarking on a career in local, elected public service.