For District 3 City Council Member José Velásquez, this past year’s theme was accessibility and constituent relations. “We’re doing exactly what we set out to do, which was make the office as accessible as possible and make the person sitting in the chair as accessible as possible,” Velásquez told the Austin Monitor. “That hasn’t always […]
District 3
District 3 brings together three distinct neighborhoods – Central East Austin, Riverside and Far South Austin.
Posted inCity Council
Renteria reflects on his time on Council as D3 prepares to usher in a new member
On a Thursday afternoon in mid-December, District 3 City Council Member Pio Renteria is packing up his office. Council had its last meeting for the year the week before and now he’s clearing out the space for his successor. “I have so many certificates and all the stuff that I’ve accumulated over the years,” Renteria […]
Posted inCity Council
José Velásquez promises to deliver access to D3 residents
The overarching theme of 2022 for the residents of District 3 was access, according to newly elected City Council Member José Velásquez. Outgoing Council Member Pio Renteria served the central eastside district for eight years and hit his term limit. After a general election with six candidates, Velásquez and community advocate Daniela Silva competed in […]
Posted inElections
José Velásquez defeats Daniela Silva for District 3 seat
José Velásquez, an activist and fourth-generation Austinite, is set to be District 3’s City Council member after beating out his runoff challenger Daniela Silva on Tuesday night. Velásquez received 4,165 votes for 53.32 percent of the vote, while Silva received 3,646 votes for 46.68 percent. “We’re ready to hit the ground running on day one,” […]
Posted inElections
District 3 Council race headed to a runoff
José Velásquez and Daniela Silva are poised to go head-to-head in a runoff after election results Tuesday night show the two candidates garnered the most votes for the District 3 City Council member seat. Velásquez received 7,650 votes for 36.43 percent of the vote, while Silva trailed just behind with 7,228 votes for 34.42 percent. […]
Posted inElections
Reports show wide disparities in fundraising among candidates
Last week, candidates running for City Council submitted their final campaign finance reports before Tuesday’s election, revealing a wide array of funds across campaigns and districts. DISTRICT 9 With Council Member Kathie Tovo stepping down, numerous people are vying to take the downtown seat. The major contenders seem to be Linda Guerrero, Tom Wald and […]
Posted inElections
District 3 Council candidates chat with the ‘Monitor’: Part II
Read Part I of the series here. Esala Wueschner came to Austin four years ago after googling the best places to live for young, single people. He says he’s energized to run because he’s always felt drawn to service roles. “I used to be in leadership positions, even at the age of sixth grade when […]
Posted inElections
Watch our District 3 City Council forum
On Tuesday, all six of the candidates running for City Council in District 3 participated in a forum hosted by KUT and the Austin Monitor. You can watch the forum, which was hosted by KUT’s Andrew Weber, below. Joining Weber were candidates José Velásquez, Daniela Silva, Gavino Fernandez Jr., José Noé Elías, Yvonne Weldon and Esala Wueschner. […]
Posted inElections
District 3 Council candidates chat with the ‘Monitor’: Part I
Council Member Pio Renteria has served District 3 as a lifetime resident and community activist. After two terms, he’s stepping down. The candidates vying for his seat have taken on community engagement roles through education and local committees while others have budget ideas through backgrounds in sales and accounting. It’s a crowded race with six […]
Posted inCity Council
Pio Renteria: Seven years in office and 71 years in District 3
City Council Member Pio Renteria recalls the time when he was able to purchase his East Austin home for just over $20,000. Now he’s received an offer to sell it for nearly a million. As a lifelong resident of East Austin, Renteria has experienced the whirlwind of change undergone by District 3 firsthand. Though it […]
Posted inCity Council
Pio Renteria: ‘We are going to come out of this really strong’
Austin City Council was forced to overcome many setbacks during 2020, but Council Member Pio Renteria said he was encouraged that he and his colleagues made strides on their efforts to help the city’s most vulnerable populations. After shifting gears to address a variety of pandemic concerns, Renteria said he took particular pride in adding […]
Posted inCity Council
Kitchen optimistic about work begun in 2019 but committed to finding real solutions
From where Ann Kitchen sits, 2019 was a productive year at City Hall. After years of stagnation on major issues from homelessness and transportation to our clunky land use code, the Council member says the city buckled down this year to solve some of its messiest problems. “I think we tackled a lot of big […]