With its collection of mostly historic homes-turned-offices, downtown’s northwest corner can often feel like a ghost town, at least compared to the rest of downtown. But a flurry of development activity over the past two years is set to make the area much livelier. According to a review of zoning requests and other development filings, […]
District 9
District 9, which is only 12 square miles in size, is bordered by MoPac and Lamar boulevards on the west, Manor Road and Interstate 35 on the east, Oltorf Street on the south and 51st Street on the north. District 9 includes most of downtown and the University of Texas campus but does not include the Capitol or most of the state office complex. Residential neighborhoods include Bouldin and Travis heights to the south, Clarksville and Hyde Park on the north and Cherrywood and Mueller on the east.
Posted inCity Council
Tovo considers changes and challenges after 11 years on Council
After more than a decade on Austin City Council, Kathie Tovo’s view on the nature of elected life is that plenty of day-one priorities and worries for new Council members are likely to remain top concerns for years to come. Take housing availability and homelessness, for example. Tovo thinks back to when these two hot-button […]
Posted inElections
Qadri credits focus on housing in win for D9 seat
Political newcomer Zohaib “Zo” Qadri will represent City Council District 9 beginning in January, defeating challenger Linda Guerrero by 352 votes, according to unofficial totals reported Tuesday night. The final vote for the two-candidate runoff according to Travis County elections officials was 7,276 for Qadri to 6,924 for Guerrero. Qadri’s win brings a marked change […]
Posted inElections
Guerrero and Qadri set for runoff in District 9
With six candidates on the ballot and the incumbent term-limited, the District 9 City Council race fulfilled its promise Tuesday night as one of the most competitive contests on the ballot. None of the candidates cleared the 50 percent threshold needed, so progressive political professional Zo Qadri and longtime educator and environmentalist Linda Guerrero will […]
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 9 forum
On Friday, all eight candidates running for City Council in District 9 participated in a forum hosted by KUT and the Austin Monitor. You can watch the forum, which was hosted by Austin Monitor reporter Sean Saldaña, below. Joining Saldaña were candidates Zena Mitchell, Zohaib “Zo” Qadri, Greg Smith, Joah Spearman, Kym Olson, Ben Leffler, Linda […]
Posted inElections
Report raises questions about campaign loan for District 9 candidate
Kym Olson has received little media attention since late August, when she designated a treasurer for her campaign for the District 9 seat on Austin City Council. Olson, who serves in the Texas State Guard as a protocol officer and deputy public affairs officer at Camp Mabry, filed her first campaign finance report with the […]
Posted inElections
District 9 Council candidates chat with the ‘Monitor’: Part II
Read Part I of the series here. Linda Guerrero brings to the table an institutional knowledge of parks and environmental issues, along with expertise on affordability and transportation more broadly. In addition to being an AISD teacher for nearly three decades, she’s also spent time on the Environmental Commission and the Parks and Recreation Board, two […]
Posted inLocal Politics
District 9 City Council candidates chat with the ‘Monitor’: Part I
Read Part II of the series here. With Council Member Kathie Tovo term-limited and six candidates who have raised more than $25,000 so far, District 9 is thought to be one of the more competitive races this local election season. One consequence of that competition: It can be difficult for voters to differentiate the candidates, […]
Posted inCity Council
Tovo ‘strongly considering’ a run for mayor in 2022
As Council Member Kathie Tovo enters her last year as District 9 representative, she sat down with the Austin Monitor to discuss what she hopes to accomplish in 2022, including a potential run for mayor and how she responded to the considerable challenges of 2021. While Tovo, who was first elected in 2011, said 2020 […]
Posted inCity Council
Kathie Tovo: A ‘completely unexpected’ year
For Kathie Tovo, who has been on Austin City Council since 2011, 2020 was a year like no other. Tovo told the Austin Monitor that she’s most proud of some of the work she did on the city’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. She pointed to a resolution to expand eligibility criteria for utility assistance shortly […]
Posted inCity Council
Tovo reflects on a year of challenge and success
As she looks back on 2019, Council Member Kathie Tovo can count some major victories, including passage of her expansive resolution directing enhancements to a lengthy stretch of downtown parkland leading up to Palm School, direction to begin creation of a Mexican American heritage corridor, and authorizing renovation and expansion of the convention center. “That […]