District 10 race has only two candidates so far

Currently, there are only two candidates running for the District 10 seat on City Council, currently occupied by Council Member Alison Alter, who is retiring at the end of this year. They are Ashika Ganguly and Marc Duchen. Ganguly’s campaign website identifies her as the former legislative director for Rep. John Bucy, a Williamson County Democrat. According to her website, Ganguly, 28, found working at the Texas Legislature frustrating because of issues such as inclusion efforts, LBGTQIA+ rights, school finance and local control. Duchen, 45, has some heavy hitters supporting him from the Democratic Party. These include Travis County Precinct 2 Commissioner Brigid Shea and former Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector Cecilia Burke, who is hosting a party for Duchen at her house on Saturday. Another candidate filed an appointment of campaign treasurer, but then decided to support Duchen instead. Idona Griffith was surprised to learn that she needed to file a report of contributions and expenditures for her campaign even though she did not collect or spend any money. Griffith is supporting Duchen. Sunday is the deadline for collecting contributions for the next reporting period, so many of the candidates are dialing for dollars. Alter, who is retiring from her District 10 seat at the end of the year after two terms, filed her July 15 campaign finance report before either of the contenders for office. The report, filed on June 15, unsurprisingly shows no funds collected, no political expenditures and no loans outstanding.