Outgoing mayor Steve Adler held a press conference yesterday outside of City Hall before heading in to vote in this month’s runoff elections. Adler, who is a resident of District 9, said he would be endorsing and voting for Zo Qadri in the City Council District 9 race. Qadri was at the press conference and the two voted together after the mayor’s remarks. Adler said that while he could not vote in the District 3 runoff, he would endorse marketing strategist José Velásquez. Though Adler said he would not make an endorsement in the race for his successor, he noted his long history and good relationships with former Austin mayor and state Sen. Kirk Watson and state Rep. Celia Israel, and he said either one of them “is ready to be mayor.”
On Nov. 29, District 5 Council candidate Stephanie Bazan sent out a press release announcing her endorsement by former District 5 candidates Ken Craig, Bill Welch and Brian Anderson. Similarly, a coalition of former District 9 candidates including Tom Wald, Zena Mitchell, Ben Leffler and Danielle Skidmore endorsed Qadri on Nov. 22.