South Austin picks Ryan Alter for District 5 seat

Although every vote counts, it was clear when the early vote numbers were released Tuesday night that Ryan Alter would prevail over opponent Stephanie Bazan in the contest for the District 5 City Council seat. After eight years in office, Ann Kitchen is retiring and newcomer Alter will be taking over in January.

Alter told the Austin Monitor, “More than anything, I’m honored and humbled at the faith and trust that District 5 residents put in me. It’s a true privilege to be their voice and work on the issues I know are important to them. I’ve talked to so many people in the district who just want to afford to live in their district and solve so many of the challenges” facing them.

“I’m excited to help find some of those solutions,” he said.

Bazan told the Monitor, “We’re really proud of the strong grassroots campaign that we ran and I am proud of my team. And I’m thankful for everyone who joined us on the campaign trail.” Asked what she would do next, Bazan said she was not sure, but added, “I will continue to serve my community.”

Alter, 33, and Bazan, 42, were among six candidates hoping to take the seat in the November election, with Bazan leading into the runoff. However, it was clear when the early vote was counted that Alter would win the seat.

Alter is not related to Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter. (Having two Alters on the dais at once could lead to some confusion and amusement in the future.)

According to the Travis County Clerk’s Office, Alter had 5,491 votes or 61 percent and Bazan had 3,494, less than 39 percent of the early vote. The percentages did not change much as the votes came in.

According to a map supplied by the clerk’s office on its website, Alter took the vast majority of District 5 precincts, including the most populous ones in the northern part of the district. Bazan prevailed in some far south precincts with fewer voters casting ballots there.

While 606 early voters chose Alter in Precinct 307, the Barton Hills neighborhood, only 182 voters in that precinct cast early ballots for Bazan. Alter also won more than twice as many votes in Precinct 306 next door. Bazan took the lead in some smaller, more southern precincts, including 336, where she won 41 votes to Alter’s 37.

When all the votes were counted, Alter had 60.53 percent of the vote compared to Bazan’s 39.47 percent, with more than 10,000 voters casting ballots in this race.

Both Bazan and Alter said they would focus on housing. Alter told the Monitor that people were frustrated with Kitchen’s incremental approach and said he would push for a plan to streamline the city’s antiquated Land Development Code, expedite the site plan process and eliminate minimum parking requirements.

Alter has worked for a variety of Texas legislators, including Sens. Kirk Watson, Sylvia Garcia and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa. He describes himself as a longtime Austin-area resident, although he has only lived in the district for the past 10 months. Born in Austin, he attended the University of Texas and graduated from Harvard Law School. He and his wife Rita have two children.

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Posted In: Elections, District 5