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Elections
Submit your questions and join us for forums with the candidates running for Austin City Council
Ahead of early voting for this November’s elections, KUT and the Austin Monitor will host forums with the candidates running for five seats on City Council. If you’re not sure, you can find out if you live in a Council…
Elections • By KUT News • Oct 4, 2022
Gary Spellman looks to disrupt Austin politics
With hair to his shoulders, an aggressive distaste for politics and officially $0 raised, Gary Spellman is hardly what one imagines when envisioning a typical candidate for elected office – something he embraces wholeheartedly. Recounting an interaction, he says, “I…
Elections • By Sean Saldaña • Sep 29, 2022
Candidates for District 1 City Council seat chat with the 'Monitor'
Four years ago, Natasha Harper-Madison won a runoff election to become the second-ever representative of City Council District 1. That year, the entrepreneur and mother of four bucked conventional wisdom by winning at the expense of better financed candidates. This…
Elections • By Nina Hernandez • Sep 21, 2022
Council sends police oversight act to voters, despite concerns about delay
Voters will decide in May whether to expand civilian oversight of the Austin Police Department after City Council declined to pass an initiative petition during a Sept. 15 meeting, with some members expressing concerns about potential legal challenges. The political…
Elections • By Emma Freer • Sep 20, 2022
November is coming, and endorsements for mayor are rolling in
’Tis the season for endorsements in races for Austin mayor and City Council seats for the Nov. 8 election. So far, all of the major labor organizations that are endorsing have endorsed Sen. Kirk Watson, a former Austin mayor. Groups…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Sep 8, 2022
Kirk Watson, a 'fixture' of Central Texas, wants to be mayor again
The way Kirk Watson tells it, his career in public office started with bad news. After working behind the scenes in Texas Democratic politics and in the state bureaucracy for a few years, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in…
Elections • By Sean Saldaña • Sep 7, 2022
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Nix drops out of mayoral race, issues endorsement for Israel
Performance artist, fitness instructor and body positivity activist Erica Nix formally announced Wednesday that she would drop out of the mayoral race and endorse former state Rep. Celia Israel. Nix launched her campaign late this summer with a platform centered…
Elections • By Nina Hernandez • Sep 1, 2022
Virden positions herself as the 'common-sense' candidate for mayor
Jennifer Virden is about as much of an Austinite as someone can be. Born and raised in Northwest Hills, she’s eager to tell potential constituents how she went to Doss Elementary, that she’s an Anderson Trojan, and that she holds…
Elections • By Sean Saldaña • Aug 24, 2022
District 9 Council candidates chat with the 'Monitor': Part II
Read Part I of the series here. Linda Guerrero brings to the table an institutional knowledge of parks and environmental issues, along with expertise on affordability and transportation more broadly. In addition to being an AISD teacher for nearly three decades,…
Elections • By Sean Saldaña • Aug 16, 2022
District 9 City Council candidates chat with the 'Monitor': Part I
Read Part II of the series here. With Council Member Kathie Tovo term-limited and six candidates who have raised more than $25,000 so far, District 9 is thought to be one of the more competitive races this local election season.…
Local Politics • By Sean Saldaña • Aug 15, 2022
'I’m pretty speechless': Austin ISD school board unanimously approves equity-focused bond
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Thursday to put a $2.44 billion bond on the November ballot. It is the largest bond package in AISD history, but district officials and school board members say what makes the…
AISD • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Aug 15, 2022
Celia Israel seeks to be a progressive voice for Austin
Celia Israel announced her run for mayor early, on January 11, almost a full 10 months before election day. She said her motivation to run was her desire to tackle the biggest issues facing Austin today: affordability and transportation. Israel…
