As he did in 2019, Council Member Pio Renteria will continue working to create a more integrated, walkable and resilient city in the next year. “Historically, Austin is a city that has been segregated, and we’re trying to change that,” he told the Monitor during an interview last week. Renteria praises the city’s success in […]
District 3
District 3 brings together three distinct neighborhoods – Central East Austin, Riverside and Far South Austin.
Posted inCity Council
Renteria looks at 2018 and beyond
As he starts his second four-year term at City Hall, District 3 Council Member Pio Renteria says he plans to concentrate on affordable housing in the coming year, just as he did in 2018 and the three previous years. Fresh off a runoff victory against his sister, Susana Almanza, Renteria told the Austin Monitor he […]
Posted inElections
Renteria bests sister Almanza again
Council Member Pio Renteria held on to his seat the same way he won it four years ago: by beating his sister. The incumbent representative of District 3, which covers much of Central East and Southeast Austin, easily won re-election in a runoff against sibling Susana Almanza, earning roughly 65 percent of the vote. Talking […]
Posted inElections
Renteria, Almanza show stark differences in D3 runoff forum
A recent forum between District 3 City Council candidates Pio Renteria and Susana Almanza – who are siblings – showed that the runoff election may center on how much one of Austin’s fastest-growing areas should change in the years to come. In Monday’s forum hosted by Austin’s League of Women Voters and the city of […]
Posted inElections
Another brother-sister runoff in East Austin’s District 3
Council Member Pio Renteria finished way ahead of multiple opponents in his bid for re-election in East Austin’s District 3. Renteria won 47.71 percent of the vote, while his sister, Susana Almanza, came in a distant second place, with 21.32 percent. “I think we did pretty good,” Renteria said at his election party Tuesday night. […]
Posted inElections
Austin Monitor Radio: District 3, Part II
This week, City Council candidates Amit Motwani and Susana Almanza join incumbent Pio Renteria for a … spirited … discussion with Austin Monitor freelancer Caleb Pritchard and editor Elizabeth Pagano. Tune in for a discussion about why each candidate is vying for the District 3 City Council seat and how they differ on the issues. […]
Posted inElections
Affordability, CodeNEXT and displacement steer candidates in District 3 forum
The city’s failed CodeNEXT process – a nearly two-year rewrite of the Land Development Code that was scrapped in August – continues to be one of the most provocative issues in local politics. One needed only to listen in to last week’s forum hosted by KUT, the Austin Monitor, Glasshouse Policy, Austin Tech Alliance and […]
Posted inElections
Battle over housing policy defines District 3 race
Growth, gentrification and CodeNEXT are at the center of the race for City Council District 3. Most of the district is made up of neighborhoods on both sides of the Colorado River that are east of Interstate 35. However, the district boundaries also snake out to grab a large chunk of South Central Austin, including […]
Posted inCity Council
Renteria concentrates on affordable housing
For District 3 City Council Member Pio Renteria, 2017 saw the culmination of projects large and small, many of which he has been working on for years. Most of those projects are related to helping low-income people who continue to maintain their homes in his district. Renteria saw the groundbreaking this year for one of […]
Posted inCity Council
Renteria’s issues: affordability, protecting tenants
For District 3 City Council Member Pio Renteria, Council’s big accomplishments, and his own, revolve around housing affordability in 2016. That includes passage of a tenant relocation ordinance with provisions to protect mobile home park residents and funding of affordable housing through a homestead preservation district. In 2015, when Council started working on an ordinance […]
Posted inDevelopment
Council approves Cactus Rose mobile home park rezoning
After more than a year, residents of an East Austin mobile home park have reached a deal with developers looking to rebuild on the property. Some city leaders say the case could set a precedent for future development. About a dozen Cactus Rose residents gathered at City Hall yesterday, many of them donning bright green […]
Posted inCity Council
Renteria sizes up new Council’s first year
The inaugural year of Austin’s brand-new single-member district City Council is getting high marks from at least one man on the inside. “I would give it an A-minus,” Council Member Pio Renteria, who represents District 3, told the Austin Monitor recently at his office in City Hall. Looking back on 2015, Renteria dished on the […]