Two years into his return stint as Austin’s mayor, Kirk Watson thinks the positive moves on housing and affordability made by the 11 members of City Council will be for naught if he can’t keep moving them forward. While he’s happy with the passage of the HOME and HOME2 initiatives to promote denser infill development, […]
Elections
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Incumbent Mackenzie Kelly faces Krista Laine in D6 race
Council Member Mackenzie Kelly and her lone challenger, Krista Laine, will go head to head in the Nov. 5 election. Kelly touts her credentials as a promoter of all things public safety, while Laine says she will do better for the district in that area as well as others. One factor favoring Laine is that […]
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Part II: District 7 candidates share views on climate action, housing, public safety
This is Part II of a two-part series profiling the candidates running for Austin City Council’s District 7 seat. Read Part I here. Adam Powell Adam Powell, a former union organizer and state employee, believes that most of the impactful work on Council happens behind the scenes. “My goal is to be a Council member […]
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Where do Austin’s mayoral candidates stand on transportation issues?
When Austinites cast their ballots this election, transportation will be front and center – not just because it’s a major challenge for the region, but also because voters will have just navigated their way to a polling station. Austin’s mayor plays a powerful role in shaping how we get around the city and has an influential […]
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Part I: District 7 Council candidates talk public safety, climate resilience, land use
This is Part I of a two-part series profiling the candidates running for Austin City Council’s District 7 seat. Read Part II here. Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool, who has represented North Central Austin since the creation of the district-based 10-1 City Council system in 2014, is completing her final term on Council. In a […]
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Time away from Council has prepped Tovo for mayoral bid
Having spent nearly two years away from the City Council dais after more than a decade as a Council member, Kathie Tovo said watching as a private citizen as city business has been conducted has given her valuable perspective. From land use to homelessness to the details of the long-in-coming contract with Austin Police Association, […]
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Incumbent Fuentes has just one challenger for the Council D2 seat
Austin voters living in District 2 will get to cast their ballots for Vanessa Fuentes or challenger Robert Reynolds in the upcoming City Council race. District 2 encompasses the neighborhoods of Dove Springs, Del Valle, Pleasant Hill, Dittmar, Easton Park and Goodnight Ranch. Additionally, it includes the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Circuit of the Americas racing […]
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Watson leads in fundraising among mayoral candidates
Mayor Kirk Watson leads all other candidates for mayor in terms of contributions received and political expenditures, according to reports filed Monday with the city clerk’s office. His Oct. 7 report shows that the mayor raised more than $216,000 over the most recent period, which started in mid-July. Watson reported raising more than $710,000 on […]
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Bowen pledges to bring transparency to City Hall, starting with independent audit
Not many people wake up on the day of the filing deadline for mayor and decide to throw their hat in the ring. But that’s what Jeffery Bowen did when he became the fifth candidate in the race to become Austin’s next mayor. Bowen, who owns a small construction services company, joins Kathie Tovo, Doug […]
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Doug Greco brings organizing energy to Austin’s mayoral race
Clad in a “Vote for Greco” T-shirt – a style that evokes “Vote for Pedro” from Napoleon Dynamite – Doug Greco may be an underdog candidate, but his campaign is infused with the grassroots energy that has defined his career as an organizer. Greco comes to politics after 18 years of organizing with the Industrial […]
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Austin post offices drop out of plan to host voter registration drive today
Local post offices across Travis County have reversed a plan that would have allowed residents to register to vote on-site today. Oct. 7 is the last day for Texans to register for the Nov. 5 election. With the help of U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the county was all set to partner with the Postal Service […]
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Carmen Llanes Pulido vows to bring inclusive leadership to City Hall
Carmen Llanes Pulido may be the youngest candidate in the five-way race for mayor, but the lifelong Austinite with activism in her DNA arguably has the most boots-on-the-ground experience in the city’s grassroots arena. As the executive director of the nonprofit Go Austin/Vamos Austin, Llanes Pulido hopes to extend her future-focused leadership to City Hall. […]