Alison Alter, a member of the city’s Parks and Recreation Board as well as the steering committee for the Rosedale Neighborhood Association, on Tuesday filed the first paperwork necessary to run for the District 10 City Council seat. That document names August “Happy” Harris as her campaign treasurer.
The only other candidate in that race so far is incumbent Sheri Gallo, who was elected in 2014.
Alter told the Austin Monitor, “People throughout the district have expressed dissatisfaction with Sheri Gallo, and they have encouraged me to run.”
She added, “I think I’m a positive alternative that will put community first. I think I have the qualifications to make smart decisions … and I really believe that we need to be listening to our constituencies and advocating for them and doing what is best for Austin at the same time.”
Alter, who is 45, has a Ph.D. from Harvard University and is the principal in a philanthropic advising practice. On her LinkedIn page, Alter states, “In my philanthropic advising practice, I draw on over 20 years of experience working in higher education and the nonprofit sector to help clients give more confidently.”
Previously, she was managing director of the Global Initiative for Education and Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin.
Alter was also the chair of the community initiative for renovating Ramsey Park.
She described herself as a mom, an entrepreneur, a community advocate and an educator. Alter is married to LBJ School of Public Affairs Professor Jeremi Suri. They have two children.
The fact that Alter has joined the race means that all of the seats currently up for election are now contested. District 2 incumbent Delia Garza has two challengers: Casey Ramos and Wesley Faulkner. District 4 City Council Member Greg Casar has drawn Louis Herrin III as an opponent. District 6 will be a rematch between Council Member Don Zimmerman and Jimmy Flannigan. And in District 7 Natalie Gauldin has challenged Council Member Leslie Pool for her seat.
Photo by M.Fitzsimmons (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons. A complete list of Austin Monitor donors can be found here.
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District 10: The district is roughly bounded by MoPac Boulevard on east, Lake Austin on the south, U.S. 183 on the north, and the boundary with District 6 on the west. It is a large district, at about 43 square miles.
