LIST: Who’s running for Austin City Council, mayor in 2024?

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s a question I ask in nearly every interview about local elections: Why should people care? Jack Craver, editor of the Austin Politics Newsletter, answered like this:

“So much of the joys and frustrations that come throughout the day, whether they’re sitting in traffic or, you know, playing at a park with their kids, so much of that is due to either the successes or failures of local government.”

You have a say in who shapes the city moving forward. Here are the candidates who have already begun the process of seeking your vote in the November 2024 election (see which Austin City Council district you’re in using this map).

Mayor

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson has not officially announced whether he will run for re-election. A spokesperson said the mayor is still “focused on stabilizing government.”

Watson served as mayor from 1997-2001 and took office again in early 2023. The mayor will serve two years, instead of four because Austin voted to have its election run concurrent to the presidential one. It means the national stage will play a bigger role in Austin politics moving forward.

“These races don’t happen in a vacuum. And so the most important factors in these races might be things that have nothing to do with city politics. It might be how many people are coming out to vote for Joe Biden or Donald Trump or whoever is also on the ballot,” Craver said.

As of right now, nobody has announced they are challenging Watson, should he run for re-election.

District Two

Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes has officially announced she is running for re-election.

“She has led on issues including raising the minimum wage to $20 for city workers, expanding paid parental leave to 12 weeks for city workers, and expanding access to full-day Pre-K in Del Valle ISD,” her campaign website said.

Fuentes beat out two other candidates in 2020 to fill the seat previously held by now-Travis County Attorney Delia Garza. Before serving on the council, Fuentes was a community health advocate with the American Heart Association.

District Four

A spokesperson for Austin City Council Member José “Chito” Vela said the council member will run for re-election next year. Vela’s campaign website lists several priorities for the council member’s campaign including housing, environment, public safety and transportation.

“I support Austin’s criminal justice reform efforts, such as the decriminalization of marijuana, initiatives to improve police accountability, and the addition of mental health as an option when calling 911. Effective and accountable public safety is a priority,” his website reads.

In a special election in 2022, Vela ran against seven candidates to plug now Congressman Greg Casar’s vacated seat. He claimed nearly 60% of the vote in that race, KXAN previously reported.

Before his run for council, Vela was an immigration and criminal defense attorney.

District Six

Austin City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly announced she intends to run for re-election for her current seat in District Six. Krista Laine has also filed to challenge her for the seat.

“It seems like that’s kind of a quintessential Democrat versus Republican race that I imagine will be pretty close,” Carver said.

Kelly has been the most conservative voice on the council during her tenure, often voting against her colleagues.

With a background in volunteer first responder work, Kelly has been particularly vocal about public safety during her time on the dais. She brought forward several public safety resolutions this year including securing new ladder trucks for the Austin Fire Department and pushing for incentives for developers to create public safety spaces.

Kelly ousted incumbent Jimmy Flannigan in a contentious runoff in 2020.

Meanwhile, Laine is a parent and advocate at Round Rock ISD — serving on the safety and security committee as a community member, according to RRISD’s website, and creating a group called Access Education RRISD which sought to balance the rhetoric surrounding contentious school issues.

“As a public schools advocate and parent, Krista has seen firsthand the struggles faced by our neighborhood public schools and the positive impact that the city, county, and other local governmental entities can have on meeting the needs of students, families, and the community,” it said on her fundraising platform.

District Seven

Austin City Council Member Leslie Pool is term-limited and leaves an open seat in District Seven. In what looks to be a crowded race, several candidates have already filed to fill that role.

“The question is whether we’ll see sort of that traditional divide between the urbanist or YIMBY (yes in my backyard) candidate and the sort of neighborhood or growth skeptic candidate,” Carver said.

So far, Mike Siegel, Adam Powell, Pierre Nguyễn and Edwin Bautista have announced campaigns for District Seven.

Siegel — formerly the City of Austin’s assistant city attorney — has a background in public education, nonprofit and legal work, according to his campaign website.

Siegel has run for state office as a Democrat and most recently lost the House District 10 seat to Michael McCaul (R) in 2020.

“As a teacher, Mike taught third grade, fifth grade, and eighth grade in the public schools, and was active in his teachers’ union. He has co-founded multiple nonprofit organizations, including Ground Game Texas, which fights for democracy and social justice through local issue campaigns in cities across the state,” his campaign website says.

Nguyễn is a firefighter and EMT in Travis County, works as the health and safety director for non-profit American YouthWorks, serves as a reservist in the Coast Guard and has been on the City of Austin’s Public Safety Commission and Asian American Quality of Life Commission, according to his campaign website.

“With my deep understanding of community needs and my unwavering commitment to serving others, I seek to bring my experience, empathy, and fresh perspective to the table,” he wrote.

Powell — who has formerly done work as a union organizer, recruiter in education and tech executive — has served as a Board Member for Austin’s SAFE Alliance, vice president of the North Shoal Creek Neighborhood Association and is on the CapMetro committee. He also volunteers with several organizations in Austin, including ReThink35, according to Powell’s campaign website.

“Adam made sure his full-time work was focused on creating positive change,” his website said.

Bautista graduated from the University of Texas in 2020 and has worked at the nonprofit Texas Housers, which supports low-income Texans in achieving home ownership, since 2021 while also getting his master’s degree, according to his campaign website.

“As a member of Generation Z, I bring fresh perspectives and ideas to the table. I’m running for local public office to champion an innovative and inclusive vision for the City of Austin. Most importantly, I’m running to represent the underdogs — the hardworking people who deserve a fair shot and the opportunity to prosper,” he wrote.

District 10

Similarly, Council Member Alison Alter has reached the end of her two consecutive terms and will leave a vacant seat. Officially eyeing it so far are Ashika Ganguly and Mark Duchen.

“There’s a lot of speculation on whether Jennifer Virden, who ran for mayor last year and ran for District 10 a couple of years before, whether she’ll get back in,” Craver said. “Jennifer Virden, you may recall, narrowly lost in a runoff to Alison Alter in 2020 so she could jump in again.”

Virden told KXAN she will be “deciding and making an announcement” as to her potential run in 2024.

Ganguly most recently served as the legislative director for Rep. John Bucy (D) and has a master’s degree in policy, according to her website.

“During the 88th session, Ashika found herself fighting for equitable legislation amidst attacks on inclusion efforts, LGBTQ+ rights, school finance, voting rights, local control, and much more. These experiences propelled her towards her new mission: advocating for her community at City Hall,” her campaign website said.

Duchen said he’s been active in neighborhood policy for the better part of a decade, starting with volunteering for his homeowners association.

“Through this role, I became involved with the fight over how to redevelop the Austin Oaks PUD and then the 2016 District 10 council race. I would later serve on the Austin Neighborhood Council executive committee and Community Not Commodity board. I have also worked with a number of Political Action Committees including the bi-partisan City Accountability Project PAC,” his campaign website said.

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