Leslie Pool not seeking another post after City Council term ends

City Council Member Leslie Pool told the Austin Monitor she does not intend to run for another office after she finishes her City Council term at the end of 2024. The news comes after the Austin American-Statesman reported over the weekend that Pool “informed a local Democratic club she is considering running to succeed” Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector Bruce Elfant. Elfant is retiring from the post he has held for the past 10 years. But Pool told the Monitor that she changed her mind after visiting her daughter, Emily, in New York and learning that Emily plans to marry in the near future. Pool said that in addition to her focus on the wedding, she will have a busy year when she becomes mayor pro tem in January. She noted that during her final year on the dais, there will be significant issues to tackle, starting with the search for a new city manager. Pool said she also is working on resilience and sustainability as vice chair of the National League of Cities Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources. Closer to home, Pool is chair of the Council committees on Austin Energy and Austin Water, vice chair of the Capital Metro board and vice chair of the Council Audit and Finance Committee. She concluded in a text to the Monitor, “I have a lot of work ahead, and the culmination of 10 years of effort.”