Austin and Travis County officials are mandating people over the age of 2 wear a mask on public property, including in buildings owned by the city and county and in public schools. “Today’s order to require masks in certain places is both to support Austin ISD’s decision to protect children and the city’s duty to […]
Mayor Steve Adler
Mayor of the city of Austin, elected in November 2014
Posted inPublic Health
Mayor, manager at odds over requiring vaccinations
On Wednesday, Mayor Steve Adler urged City Manager Spencer Cronk to require all city employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19, with a few exceptions. His comments came in an emailed press release. A few hours later, a city spokesperson released the following statement by email: “The Governor’s Executive Order GA-35 prohibits the city from requiring […]
Posted inAustin
Mayor Steve Adler on meeting the challenges of 2021
The city and its leaders have faced multiple challenges in the past 16 months: Covid-19, homelessness, Winter Storm Uri and the failure of the Texas power grid, and the Texas Legislature’s continuing attempts to limit the choices Austin and other cities have in raising and spending tax dollars. Mayor Steve Adler sat down with the […]
Posted inHousing
After yearlong ban, Austin and Travis County will let some landlords file evictions starting in June
Lee esta historia en español. Austin-area renters who have not paid rent for five months or more and have exhausted all rent assistance will once again be subject to eviction beginning June 1. Most other residential tenants and some commercial tenants will be safe from eviction until at least Aug. 1. On Friday, Austin and […]
Posted inCourts
Adler, Brown say they won’t back down as Paxton threatens suit
Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown Wednesday threatening a lawsuit if Austin and Travis County do not rescind rules devised by Austin’s health authority to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Those rules include the requirement that adults wear face masks when entering […]
Posted inAustin
Local leaders say Samsung deal could boost middle-skill jobs
As city staffers continue to work behind the scenes negotiating an economic incentive package with Samsung to bring a $17 billion manufacturing operation to Austin, some local leaders see the deal as a large positive step for increasing so-called middle-skill jobs. During a presentation at last week’s annual meeting of the Austin Chamber, Mayor Steve […]
Posted inAustin
Adler praises planned talks on homelessness, pushes for clear timeline
In a presentation at Wednesday’s annual meeting of the Austin Chamber, Mayor Steve Adler praised a soon-to-be-announced partnership between the group and other local organizations around plans to address the city’s homeless population. Adler’s comments during the event hinted at the forthcoming community conversations that will be organized by the chamber, the Downtown Austin Alliance […]
Posted inCity Council
Mayor Steve Adler: Reflections on a challenging year
At the start of 2020, Mayor Steve Adler was thinking about how to convince his colleagues to pass a new Land Development Code and how to convince the public to vote for a $7 billion mass transit bond proposal in November. He was not thinking about news from China about the deadly new coronavirus, and […]
Posted inCity Council
Adler backtracks after initially saying he did ‘not do anything wrong’ by flying to Mexico during the pandemic
After initially saying he didn’t do anything wrong, Austin Mayor Steve Adler now says he realizes he “set a bad example” by traveling to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for vacation last month. An Austin American-Statesman story revealed Wednesday that Adler attended an in-person wedding for his daughter in early November and then flew with others […]
Posted inAustin
New collective continues the fight to dismantle systemic racism
Mayor Steve Adler and a coalition of community activists launched a new nonprofit organization earlier this month, creating an entity to succeed the Mayor’s Task Force on Institutional Racism and Systemic Inequities and bring many of its 278 recommendations to fruition. Kazique Prince, who was a project manager for the task force, will serve as […]
Posted inAustin
Mayor touts justice agenda, Project Connect in State of the City speech
Although “the current state of our city is anxious, troubled and hurting,” Mayor Steve Adler said during Wednesday’s State of the City address, the city has “a once-in-a-century opportunity to no longer be bound by who we were a year ago. Some greater power has reinvented us all.” For Adler, now is the time to […]
Posted inAustin
With Abbott’s green light, Austin will require businesses to enforce mask rules
While the governor has said Texans can’t face penalties for not wearing face coverings, cities and counties can apparently mandate that businesses require their customers to wear masks. Austin Mayor Steve Adler issued an order Wednesday requiring businesses to start doing so by next week. “Wearing masks is important, to our health and to opening […]