Austin City Council

Last updated

Austin City Council
Type
Type
Leadership
Mayor
Kirk Watson (D)
since 2022
Mayor Pro Tempore
Leslie Pool (D)
since 2024 [1]
Structure
Seats10-1
United States Austin, Texas City Council 2021.svg
Political groups
officially nonpartisan

Majority

  •   Travis County Democratic Party (10)

Minority

Elections
Two-round system
Last election
November 5th, 2024
Meeting place
AustinTXCityHall.JPG
Austin City Hall
Website
Council Meeting Information

The Austin City Council is the unicameral legislature of the city of Austin, Texas, United States of America. The mayor is included as a member of the council and presides over all council meetings and ceremonies. The current mayor of Austin is Kirk Watson. The duty of the council is to decide the city budget, taxes, and various other ordinances. [2] While the council is officially nonpartisan, [3] all but one current council member are affiliated with the Democratic Party.

Contents

Before 2012, the council was composed of six at-large elected members and the mayor, and members could only serve three terms (nine years) on the council. However, in 2012 the citizens of Austin approved two propositions that established ten single-member districts within the city and assigned council and mayoral seats staggered four-year terms, with members limited to two terms. However, the mayor remains as the 11th member on the council, an arrangement known as 10-1. The new setup was first implemented after the 2014 elections. [2]

Duties

The duty of the Austin City Council is to oversee and decide on the city budget, local taxes, amendment of laws, and creation of ordinances and policies. The council members meet every Thursday. [2] There are several boards and commissions that are composed of non-elected appointed citizens to give advice and recommendations to council members. These board generally review, debate, and comment on recommendations for the council. [4] [2]

Members

Members of the council are elected to 4 years terms and can serve a maximum of 2 terms. The current council was elected in 2022. [2] The council is officially nonpartisan; however, all but one current council members and the mayor are affiliated with the Democratic Party.

DistrictNameParty (officially nonpartisan)Term startLocation [5] References
Mayor Kirk Watson Democratic January 6, 2023Citywide [6] [2]
1 Natasha Harper-Madison Democratic January 7, 2019East Austin (North), Harris Branch, MLK [7] [6]
2 Vanessa Fuentes Democratic January 6, 2021Southeast Austin, Airport, South End of Congress [8]
3 José Velásquez Democratic January 6, 2023East Austin (South), Montopolis, St. Edwards/Elmo [9] [6]
4 Jose "Chito" Vela Democratic February 4, 2022North Central Austin, Highland, Rundberg [10] [6]
5 Ryan Alter Democratic January 6, 2023 South Lamar, Menchaca, Westgate [11] [6]
6 Mackenzie Kelly Republican January 6, 2021Northwest Austin, Lakeline, Lake Travis [12] [6]
7 Leslie Pool Democratic January 6, 2015North Austin, Burnet Road, The Domain [13] [6]
8 Paige Ellis Democratic January 7, 2019Southwest Austin, Oak Hill, Circle C [14] [6]
9 Zohaib "Zo" Qadri Democratic January 6, 2023 Downtown, Central Austin, South Congress [15] [6]
10 Alison Alter Democratic January 6, 2017West Austin, Tarrytown, Northwest Hills [16] [6]

Notable past members

Election results

2024

City of Austin, Mayor
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Kirk Watson 166,890 50.05 −0.35
Democratic Carmen Llanes Pulido68,04220.40
Democratic Kathie Tovo55,71516.71
NonpartisanJeffrey Bowen27,0558.11
Democratic Doug Greco15,7684.73
Total votes333,470 100.00
Democratic hold
City of Austin, District 2
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Vanessa Fuentes 22,591 85.67 +29.61
Republican Robert Reynolds3,78014.33
Total votes26,371 100.00
Democratic hold
City of Austin, District 4
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic José "Chito" Vela 11,034 58.52 −0.68
Democratic Monica Guzmán5,22327.70+13.95
Republican Louis Herrin1,1496.09
Republican Jim Rabuck8194.34
Democratic Eduardo "Lalito" Romero6303.34
Total votes18,855 100.00
Democratic hold
City of Austin, District 6
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Krista Laine 6,230 51.60
Republican Mackenzie Kelly5,84348.40−5.89
Total votes12,073 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican
City of Austin, District 7
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic (Democratic Socialists of America)Mike Siegel13,68139.83
Democratic Gary Bledsoe6,62419.28
Republican Pierre Huy Nguyễn5,11014.88
Democratic Adam Powell3,82811.14
Democratic Todd Shaw2,9738.65
Democratic Edwin Bautista2,1356.22
Total votes12,073 100.00
Runoff election
Democratic (Democratic Socialists of America)Mike Siegel
Democratic Gary Bledsoe
City of Austin, District 10
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Marc Duchen 20,810 50.59
Democratic Ashika Ganguly20,32149.41
Total votes41,131 100.00
Democratic hold

2022

City of Austin, Mayor
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Celia Israel 122,37740.01
Democratic Kirk Watson 106,88334.94
Republican Jennifer Virden56,31316.71
NonpartisanPhil Campero Brual7,3402.39
NonpartisanAnthony Bradshaw7,1372.33
NonpartisanGary Spellman5,8151.90
Total votes305,865 100.00
Runoff election
Democratic Kirk Watson 57,565 50.41
Democratic Celia Israel 56,62349.58
Total votes114,188 100.00
Democratic hold
City of Austin, District 4 special election
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic José "Chito" Vela 2,141 59.24
Democratic Monica Guzmán49713.75
Green Jade Lovera40211.23
Republican Amanda Rios3499.65
Democratic Melinda Schiera1754.84
NonpartisanIsa Boonto-Zarifis330.91
NonpartisanRamesses II Setepenre170.47
Total votes3,614 100.00
Democratic hold
City of Austin, District 3
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic José Velásquez7,67436.39
Democratic Daniela Silva7,26034.43
Democratic José Noé Elias2,31810.99
Republican Yvonne Weldon1,9479.23
Democratic Gavino Fernandez Jr.1,0785.11
Republican Esala Wueschner8063.82
Total votes21,083 100.00
Runoff election
Democratic José Velásquez 4,181 53.39
Democratic Daniela Silva3,64946.60
Total votes7,830 100.00
Democratic hold

History

The city of Austin was officially incorporated by the Fourth Congress of the Republic of Texas on December 27, 1839. The city was established at the confluence of the Colorado River and Shoal Creek, which was then the site of a small community known as Waterloo. The city was founded to act as the capital of the Republic of Texas and was named in honor of Stephen F. Austin, the so-called Founder of Texas. [17] The governmental structure established by the original Austin charter called for "one mayor, and eight Aldermen", with the mayor being elected city-wide, and each Alderman representing one of the city's eight wards. [18] Austin had its first mayoral election on January 13, 1840, in which citizens elected Edwin Waller to be the city's first mayor. [19]

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References

  1. "Leslie Pool launches into the final year of a busy decade". Austin Monitor. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Austin, Texas". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  3. "Austin City Council signals progressive unity with Ruth Bader Ginsburg accessories". KXAN.com. December 18, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  4. "Boards and Commissions | AustinTexas.gov - The Official Website of the City of Austin". www.austintexas.gov. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  5. "Geocortex Viewer for HTML5".
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Terms of Office | AustinTexas.gov - The Official Website of the City of Austin". www.austintexas.gov. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  7. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Natasha Harper-Madison". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  8. "About | VANESSA FUENTES FOR AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL". Vanessa for Austin. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  9. "District 3 Council Member | Statesman Votetracker". City of Austin. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  10. "Jose Vela". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  11. Smith, Amy. "District 5 Council Member". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  12. "Mackenzie Kelly". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  13. "Leslie Pool". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  14. "Paige Ellis represents sharp political shift for Southwest Austin's District 8". Austin Monitor. December 28, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  15. "About Council Member Zohaib Zo Qadri". City of Austin. May 30, 2011. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  16. "Alison Alter". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  17. "When was Austin founded?". The Austin Public Library. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  18. "City of Austin Resource Guide" (PDF). Austin Public Library. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  19. "Edwin Waller". Texas State Cemetery. Retrieved May 5, 2020.