From 2007 to 2012, he was a member of the nominally nonpartisan San Antonio City Council, on which he was a firm ally of then Mayor Julian Castro.

[2] In the November 4, 2014 general election, Cortez was narrowly unseated by the Republican Rick Galindo, who won his party primary on March 4 with 2,372 votes (64.6 percent).

Galindo thwarted the primary comeback bid waged by former Representative John Garza, who trailed with 1,300 votes (35.4 percent) of the ballots cast.

[5] Berlanga (born December 16, 1959) is a certified public accountant in San Antonio who formerly ran for Bexar County tax assessor-collector but lost to Democrat Albert Uresti.

[6] On July 27, 2021, an arrest warrant was issued for Cortez for fleeing Texas to DC in an attempt to block quorum during special session.