San Antonio Mayor Attributes Poverty To 'Broken People' Lacking Relationship With Their Creator [Video]

SAN ANTONIO, TX — Local politics don't generally garner attention of national media. But during a recent debate ahead of the mayoral race in San Antonio, remarks by the incumbent about what she believes are at the root of poverty have commanded headlines well beyond the city.

Asked at the forum for her thoughts into what the "deepest systemic causes of generational poverty" might be, Mayor Ivy R. Taylor attributed the scourge to a godlessness among those affected, calling the low-income segment as "broken people."

The exchange was captured by NOWCastSA, a news site specializing in local affairs. Taylor addressed the questioner directly before expounding on her views, seemingly in an attempt toward ingratiation.

"Since you're with the Christian Coalition, I'll go ahead and put it out there that to me, it's broken people. People not being in a relationship with their creator and therefore not being in a good relationship with their families and their communities and not being productive members of society."

The mayor added that the poverty issue is “not something I work on” as mayor, though added she tried addressing the urban ill by promoting the importance of obtaining a formal education.

The implications of her answer in what was strictly a local, town-hall-style debate forum have reached far beyond the borders of San Antonio. The Progressive Secular Humanist blog on Patheos described the comments as “cold and callous, and show nothing but contempt for poor people and atheists.”

For his part, councilman and mayoral hopeful Ron Nirenberg didn't touch on religion in his answer to the question.

Later in the forum, Taylor amplified on her religious views: “I am a born-again Christian, a believer in Jesus Christ. I draw very heavily on that as far as the strength to do this job.” The mayor then cited a Bible passage she said helps her “on a daily basis.”

Although a registered Democrat, Taylor has come under fire from those on the left for her views on an array of liberal issues, particularly LGBT rights. She voted in 2013 against protections for the community. That stance may have led to her being heckled at a vigil for the victims of the Orlando nightclub massacre, as KHOU and other media outlets noted.

The video snippet highlighting the exchange can be seen at 1:07:45 in the video below:

Taylor was elected Mayor of San Antonio on in June of 2015. Prior to her election, she earned an appointment to the seat from her City Council colleagues in July 2014, making her the first African American woman to serve as mayor of a city with more than one million people, and only the second female mayor of San Antonio. Before becoming mayor, she served on the San Antonio City Council for five years.

>>> Photo of San Antonio Mayor Ivy R. Taylor via City of San Antonio website