Local Republican Tony Renteria Declines to Run for Lubbock Mayor

Local businessman, Tony Renteria (pictured on the far left with Sen. Charles Perry, Rep. Dustin Burrows and Lubbock County Tax Assessor-Collector Ronnie Keister), has been wrestling with a decision on whether or not, to run for Lubbock Mayor in the May 2020 election.

Late Thursday afternoon, Renteria announced he has declined to run for mayor. The current mayor of Lubbock, Dan Pope, has already announced he will run for re-election.

In a statement first provided to Pratt on Texas and KFYO News, Renteria said: "After much prayer, consideration and consulting with close friends and family and primarily my wife, I have decided not to toss my hat in the ring for Mayor," Renteria said.

"There are many things I had to consider in coming to this conclusion and it all comes down to how I can best serve our community and most importantly, God and family. I want you all to know I truly love and appreciate you all for your willingness to support me in my endeavor. My desire to serve you all and our community is what made this decision so difficult.

"I will reach out to our Mayor, Dan Pope, and ask if we could visit over some things many of you have discussed with me that I strongly support and ask for his support in helping us accomplish these goals. My desire to serve is very strong. I have had many of you tell me you would like for me to run for office in one capacity or another and I intend to do so probably by next election.

"To give more of an insight as to my hesitancy of running in this election, the office of Mayor is a full-time thankless job that would require 100 percent of my attention and a knowledge of every element of what is happening in the city. With the many projects currently underway and the amount of attention to detail required to accomplish these tasks, I have to realistically admit that changing Mayors mid-stream isn’t the most prudent thing to do, especially considering the learning curve it will take to get acclimated to the role. Inasmuch as I have a large amount of knowledge of government at most levels where I believe I could walk in and immediately make an impact be it County, state or federal, even I must admit that city government is a completely different animal.

"Also, I have known Dan Pope for a long time and as I said when I began this journey, this is in no way personal, he has always been very approachable to me and we have never had a harsh word between us, to the contrary, we have always been cordial to one another. So this was never personal, we do have some philosophical differences, but who doesn’t.

"The one thing I have failed to do is to approach him about concerns or ideas that would have given him the opportunity to address these things in his role as Mayor rather than as my opponent.

"As a man of faith, I believe this alone is a disservice to him and to the people of this community. Thus, I think at this particular time, my best course of action is as a voice for many of you, and also, to continue my goal of supporting Godly men and women who wish to run for office and encouraging men and women of faith to engage in the political process (ie, voting, etc).

"I also plan to continue fighting for the unborn and for our 2nd Amendment and other Constitutional rights that are being comprised in our current political culture. I can’t emphasize how much I appreciate you all.

"You are all great, I am humbled by the outpouring of support, your encouragement through calls, texts and PMs, I appreciate the commitment to financially supporting my campaign that some of you had.

"I especially appreciate C.J. Hargrove for stepping up in a major way and for the financial sacrifices he was willing to make to support me in my quest for Mayor. He is a true friend and his belief in my candidacy is very humbling. There are too many other people to mention, but I am a better person because of all of you. Thank you all for your prayers and willingness to help, I couldn’t ask for better friends or family, may God richly bless you all in your endeavors," Renteria said.