San Antonio’s next mayor will be Gina Ortiz Jones , a 44-year-old West Side native who rose from John Jay High School to the top ranks of the U.S. military on an ROTC scholarship.

Jones defeated Rolando Pablos , a close ally of Texas GOP leaders, 54.3% to 45.7% Saturday night in a high-profile, bitterly partisan runoff.

Thanks to new longer terms that voters approved in November, this year’s mayor and council winners will be the first to serve four-year terms before they must seek reelection.

The closely watched runoff came after Jones took a commanding 10-percentage-point lead in last month’s 27-candidate mayoral election, but weathered nearly $1 million in attacks from Pablos and his Republican allies.

At the Dakota East Side Ice House, a beaming Jones said she was proud

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