In her eight years on Austin City Council, Ann Kitchen has navigated both the thrills and the growing pains of the second-fastest-growing city in the country. Kitchen has spent 2022 refining policies she hopes will continue to address Austin’s housing crisis well after her departure, when she’ll hand over the reins of District 5 to incoming […]
District 5
District 5 is built along South Lamar Boulevard, further south along Westgate Boulevard. Even further south, it takes a right turn and picks up the South Park area on the far south edge of town and wanders east across I-35 to the well-to-do Onion Creek Country Club area.
Posted inCity Council
In D5, Ryan Alter hopes to bring momentum to city operations
Ryan Alter will bring a state-level perspective to City Hall next year when he takes over representing District 5 from Ann Kitchen, the two-term City Council member who was term-limited and unable to run in November. As a policy analyst and legal staffer for a number of state senators in recent years, Alter said he […]
Posted inElections
South Austin picks Ryan Alter for District 5 seat
Although every vote counts, it was clear when the early vote numbers were released Tuesday night that Ryan Alter would prevail over opponent Stephanie Bazan in the contest for the District 5 City Council seat. After eight years in office, Ann Kitchen is retiring and newcomer Alter will be taking over in January. Alter told […]
Posted inElections
Bazan, Alter set for runoff in District 5
Six candidates lined up this year to take the seat held by retiring City Council Member Ann Kitchen, who has served District 5 since 2015. When the votes were counted on Tuesday, the two candidates whose campaigns emphasize streamlining development regulations, including compatibility standards to speed up building new housing, remained in the ring. Stephanie […]
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
Watch our District 5 forum
On Wednesday, five of the six candidates running for City Council in District 5 participated in a forum hosted by KUT and the Austin Monitor. You can watch the forum, which was hosted by Austin Monitor reporter Nina Hernandez, below. Joining Hernandez were candidates Ryan Alter, Bill Welch, Ken Craig, Stephanie Bazan and Aaron Velazquez […]
Posted inElections
District 5 Council candidates chat with the ‘Monitor’: Part II
Read Part I of the series here. Stephanie Bazan grew up in South Austin. Her first experience in public service was as a member of the Girl Scouts. The communications professional and mom of two said her passions for service and her hometown brought her into the race. “I deeply care about Austin and […]
Posted inElections
District 5 Council candidates chat with the ‘Monitor’: Part I
Read Part II of the series here. District 5 will choose a new City Council member this November. Ann Kitchen was elected to a first term in 2015 and ran a second time unopposed in 2019. The environmentalist and attorney was known for her pragmatic approach and tireless commitment to public engagement. Term limits prohibit […]
Posted inCity Council
Kitchen: ‘We could write a whole book about the last year’
Ann Kitchen thrives from the many challenges of being a City Council member. “It’s a combination of being really proactive and trying to address the problems that we’re having as a city,” she told the Austin Monitor. “It’s always new, it’s always challenging and it really is an opportunity to help out people and the city […]
Posted inCity Council
Ann Kitchen: Building better solutions
Council Member Ann Kitchen has spent the year juggling difficult decisions – about the Covid-19 pandemic, reallocating police funds, finding solutions for homelessness, improving mobility and preserving the arts. “Covid has highlighted disparities in our community and highlighted problems that we already have and made them worse,” the District 5 Council member said. “So, in terms […]
Posted inCity Council
Ann Kitchen focused on ‘fixing people’s problems’
City Council Member Ann Kitchen is the first member of the 10-1 Council to win re-election unopposed. “I was surprised,” Kitchen said of her lack of opponent in this year’s election. “But I was certainly happy about that. I’m pleased that the folks in the district trusted me enough to continue in a second term.” […]
Posted inCity Council
In 2017, Kitchen worked on the big issues
For Council Member Ann Kitchen, 2017 was a year of progress. In an interview with the Austin Monitor, she highlighted some of the ongoing work her office has done over the past year that deals with some of the city’s weightiest issues. Like others on City Council, Kitchen is particularly proud of the progress she […]