Austin City Council: Incumbents win new terms; runoffs set in three districts

Half the district seats on the Austin City Council were on Tuesday's ballot, with sitting council members winning new terms in two districts, and the three other races headed to runoff elections.

The races in District 1 and District 8 saw incumbents Natasha Harper-Madison and Paige Ellis grab big leads in early voting and hold on to keep their seats on the City Council.

The races in District 3, District 5 and District 9 are for open seats. With crowded fields in all three races, each was expected to go to a runoff, according to local political consultant Mark Littlefield. The runoff races will be held in December between the two top vote-getters in each of those districts.

Steve Pedigo, director of the LBJ School of Public Affairs Urban Lab at the University of Texas, said Wednesdaythat the runoffs will provide the candidates another chance to highlight their differences. The challenge with runoffs is the turnout is usually a lot lower, Pedigo said, so getting people to the polls a second time will likely be a focus.

Littlefield said the candidates who win the open seats in District 3 and District 5 are likely to have the biggest impact on the direction of the council for the next four years, especially on issues related to housing and affordability.

“If a certain type of candidate comes out of those open seats, then the mayor will be able to do certain things,” he said. “If a bit of a different type of candidate comes in, the mayor can do other things.”

According to the Travis County Clerk's Office, 462,538 people cast ballots in the county this November — about 52% of registered voters.

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District 1: Incumbent Harper-Madison elected again

Incumbent Natasha Harper-Madison held off challeges from three opponents, taking 53.2% of the vote to keep her seat in the Austin City Council's District 1. She has represented the Northeast Austin district since 2018.

Misael Ramos received 25.2% of the vote, while Melonie House-Dixon received11% and Clinton Rarey received 10.5%, according to final but unofficial results.

Harper-Madison said her priorities for a second term include housing affordability, transit and economic opportunity. She said she wants to spend the next four years making progress on key issues, including protecting her district, where she grew up, from becoming even less affordable for the families living there as development increases.

Harper-Madison said her approach to keeping housing affordable is to make sure there are plenty of homes on the market. She said this involves strategically eliminating barriers to housing development such as streamlining the permit process and updating the city's Land Development Code.

Harper-Madison said she thinks voters were attracted to her record and to her campaign, which focused on the issues and encouraged civic engagement. She said she does her best to be honest with community members, even when it means delivering bad news. Overall, she said her aim is to press forward with the long-term future of the district in mind.

“I believe it's a privilege to represent the district, but I also feel like it's my charge to do so intentionally, and consider the future of the district in my mind,” she said. “I know that rattles some people, but I really talked about how the policy work that I do now, in many ways won't materialize until I'm gone in terms of being in this role.”

Harper-Madison is the district-level candidate who raised the most money this election season — $157,085 — and was one of six district candidates across all five races who raised over $100,000. The candidate who raised the second-most money in this race was Ramos at $12,771.

District 3: Velásquez, Silva headed for runoff

José Velásquez and Daniela Silva will square off in a runoff election for the open seat in Austin City Council's District 3.

The winner will succeed two-term Austin City Council Member Sabino "Pio" Renteria in the district, which is primarily in East Austin and east Central Austin.

Velásquez tallied 36.4% of the vote and Silva 34.4%, according to final but unofficial results.

The other four candidates split the remainder — José Noé Elías with 11%, ​​Yvonne Weldon 9.2%, Gavino Fernandez Jr. 5.1% and Esala Wueschner 3.8%

Velásquez, 42, is running on housing policy that focuses on affordability and anti-displacement measures. He wants to protect existing affordable housing stock and build more by expediting the permitting process. He graduated with a degree in psychology from Huston-Tillotson University and owns a communications consulting firm.

Velásquez said what sets him apart as a candidate is his lived experience and record as an inclusive coalition builder who has worked to bridge the divide between new and old Austin. He has a long list of community leadership roles to his credit, including serving as a board member for Latinitas and the Greater Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and founding Hermanos de East Austin and GRITO Austin.

Silva said she supports eliminating single-family zoning at the municipal level and incentivizing SMART housing, a program that provides fee waivers for development permits in exchange for onsite income-restricted units. She also wants to expand opportunities for homeownership, especially as a way to close the racial wealth gap.

Her other priorities include health care and environmental justice, and her goal is ensure the city’s growth is sustainable and equitable.

Velásquez raised the most money — $104,461 — more than all the other candidates combined. The second-highest fundraiser in the race was Silva at $30,132.

District 5: Bazan, Alter advance to runoff

In the Austin City Council District 5 race, newcomers Stephanie Bazan and Ryan Alter will advance to a December runoff election to fill the open council seat.

Bazan captured 29.3% of the vote, followed by Alter with 24.2%, according to final but unofficial results.

Ken Craig was third in the race with 19.1% of the vote.

The vote percentages for the other candiates in the race were: Bill Welch (14.8%), Aaron Webman (10%) and Brian Anderson (2.4%).

The winner in the South Austin district will succeed two-term Council Member Ann Kitchen, who had endorsed Craig, her longtime policy advisor.

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Heading into the election, political insiders had a hard time predicting a winner because several candidates had a strong profile. Alter received an endorsement from the American-Statesman and split an endorsement with Craig from the Austin Chronicle.

Bazan distinguished herself in the field as the only woman. Webman led in fundraising with $136,000, a total that included $50,000 that he gave himself. Welch, who once ran for the Texas House as a Republican, sought to appeal to the district's conservative voters.

District 8: Ellis wins a second term

Incumbent Paige Ellis captured a second term on the Austin City Council, pulling in 57.8% of the vote in District 8 in final but unofficial results.

Ellis, 38, faced three opponents in her bid for reelection in District 8, which encompasses parts of Southwest Austin.

Her opponents split the rest of the vote — Richard Smith received 28.4%, while Kimberly Hawkins received 9.27% and Antonio Ross received 4.5%.

Ellis declared victory after unofficial early voting results were published, saying she didn’t see a path to victory for any other candidate in the race. She chalked up her victory to her record over her first term.

“We have worked really hard for the constituents. We've delivered projects in almost every neighborhood,” she said. “I've also just led on my personal values. It's a nonpartisan race, but I've run as a proud Democrat. And I think people appreciate the transparency and honesty and knowing that you're going to have their back when they need to.”

Ellis said she hopes to step up as a leader on council as a second-term veteran and work with other council members to reach balanced decisions on important issues. Her priorities include road safety, transit, land planning and climate change. She said she wants to create more walkable communities within Austin and move forward with projects funded by the $460 million urban trails and bike lanes bond measure that passed in 2020.

Ellis got an early jump on fundraising this year, bringing in more than $56,000 by January before many candidates across the city had officially declared their intentions to run. In total, Ellis raised $129,185, far outpacing the other candidates in her district. Richard Smith raised the second-highest amount of money at $55,471.

District 9: Runoff on way in tight race

In District 9, the race to succeed longtime Council Member Kathie Tovo was headed to a runoff, an outcome that had been expected given the size of the field, which includes eight candidates, the most in any Austin race.

Zohaib Qadri led the way with 29.9% of the vote, according to final but unofficial results. Linda Guerrero was second in the unofficial count with 22.3% of the vote, but Ben Leffler was a very close third with 21.2%. The top two finishers when the votes are certified will square off in a runoff on Dec. 13.

The others in the field are Greg Smith (8.8%), Joah Spearman (5.4%), Tom Wald (5.2%), Zena Mitchell (4.3%) and Kym Olson (2.8%).

The winner will represent a geographical area that includes downtown, the Travis Heights neighborhood, and the University of Texas campus.

More:With so many bond measures on ballot, will voters say yes to Austin's $350M housing plan?

Qadri, 32, has experience assisting on campaigns and to oppose conservative legislation. He said his focus is on housing, affordability and climate change.

Qadri said his campaign will continue to reach out to voters in the weeks until the runoff on Dec. 13.

“We are going to keep working hard, and we will not take any voter for granted,” he said in a written statement. “District 9 is the youngest and most progressive district in the city, with more renters impacted by our affordability crisis. These voters in District 9 deserve representation that will take clear action and cast hard votes.”

Pedigo said candidates in District 9, which includes a lot of University of Texas student voters, will face a curveball going into the runoff. Students were an active electorate this November, but the runoff election is set for after final exams, which means a large chunk of those voters might not be in town to cast their ballot a second time.

Guerrero, a teacher, was endorsed by Tovo and campaigned on housing policies that align with Tovo's longtime fight on the council to protect single-family neighborhoods from multi-family developments.

Leffler led the field in money raised with $125,000. He collected an endorsement from the American-Statesman and split the Austin Chronicle's endorsement with Guerrero.

This race was expensive, with the candidates combining to raise $537,000. Qadri and Spearman both raised over $90,000, and Guerrero raised $71,000. Smith, a moderate, raised $100,000.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Results for Austin City Council elections in districts 1, 3, 5, 8, 9