Garcia said he loved campaigning, meeting people and participating in televised debates with the other candidates.
On placing third in a field of more than 15 candidates, he said: "I'm proud of that because I had no name ID and then we got almost 20,000 votes. It was a wonderful experience."
As a first-time candidate for political office, Garcia said he struggled to raise money and was at a distinct disadvantage because of his profession.
"Most of my support — friends, colleagues, mentors — are in financial services and they couldn't give me any money out of fear that they could be severely penalized somewhere down the road if they didn't interpret the law entirely correctly," he said. "So essentially, it took out my whole base."
He was referencing an SEC rule that took effect in 2010 known as the pay-to-play rule. Under the rule, investment advisers are prohibited from receiving compensation from a government client for two years after the adviser or certain employees at their firm make a contribution to certain elected officials or candidates.
Garcia said the rules are "extremely onerous for workers in the financial services industry, and that includes broker-dealers, advisers, money managers, anyone that's an SEC registrant."
Garcia said the rule hinders people in the financial services industry from running for office. Houston, like many cities and states, is facing budget issues, which is why it needs financial service expertise in the mayor's office more than ever, he said.
"Why would the SEC want to limit the ability for people in our industry from helping our community and serving?" he asked.
When asked if he'd consider running for elected office again, Garcia said: "Never say never." But another run is unlikely at this point. For now, he said he's working on "building up the bench" at Garcia Hamilton and growing the firm to new heights.
