Two of the least-competitive City Council races played out exactly as most people anticipated they would, with Council members Vanessa Fuentes and Chito Vela easily holding on to their City Council seats Tuesday. Vela, who squared off against four challengers, won 58.5 percent of the vote in District 4, avoiding a runoff. His campaign centered […]
District 4
District 4 is bordered by Lamar Boulevard and US 183 on the west, by Cameron Road on the east, 51st Street on the south and Braker Lane on the north.
Posted inElections
Vela, Guzmán and Herrin raise quality-of-life concerns in race for District 4
In the race for the District 4 seat on City Council, incumbent Chito Vela is facing four candidates, with the two most visible challengers – Monica Guzmán and Louis Herrin – notching their third and fourth races for City Council, respectively. Quality-of-life issues are the main concerns expressed by Vela, Guzmán and Herrin, the three […]
Posted inCity Council
Vela ready to take action to create more housing in 2023
City Council Member José “Chito” Vela has been hard at work since he was sworn in to the District 4 seat in February following his election in January. He’s been holding down two jobs, serving as a Council member and finishing up his work as an attorney. In mid-December, he had six cases to complete […]
Posted inElections
Vela sworn in as District 4 Council member
José “Chito” Vela, who won the election to become the second City Council member for District 4 on Jan. 25, was sworn in Monday morning and took his seat on the dais. Vela joined Council before a large group of family and friends who gathered at City Hall for the occasion. Mayor Pro Tem Alison […]
Posted inElections
Vela easily wins District 4 race
A look at the election results Tuesday night showed that José “Chito” Vela would handily defeat his six opponents in the special election to replace outgoing Council Member Greg Casar. Vela won 2,137 votes for 59.23 percent. His closest rival, Monica Guzmán, received just 495 votes for 13.72 percent of the vote. Coming in third […]
Posted inElections
District 4 candidates face off before special election
Candidates vying for Greg Casar’s Council seat appealed to voters last Thursday at a forum hosted by the city’s Ethics Commission and the Austin chapter of League of Women Voters. Isa Boonto, Melinda Schiera, Jade Lovera, Jose “Chito” Vela, and Monica Guzmán had the chance to share their visions for District 4 before competing in […]
Posted inCity Council
Casar says 2021 was about helping people in crisis
From community organizer to City Council member to congressional candidate, Greg Casar exudes the energy of someone eager to get things done. Since taking office in January 2015, he has accomplished much of the social agenda he put forward as a Council member. Now he’s poised to make an early departure from Council once his […]
Posted inElections
Who’s running for the District 4 seat?
As of the Thursday afternoon deadline, seven candidates had filed valid ballot applications for the Jan. 25 election to fill the District 4 City Council seat being vacated by Council Member Greg Casar. Casar, who is running for Congress, released a statement endorsing José “Chito” Vela for the Council seat. Casar said, “I know that […]
Posted inElections
Why some residents won’t be able to vote in the District 4 special election
Some residents in the newly drawn City Council District 4 map will not be able to vote in the upcoming special election to fill Council Member Greg Casar’s seat. “This is a unique situation,” said Jannette Goodall, who retired as the city clerk in November. “This is the first time in the 21 years that I’ve […]
Posted inDevelopment
Council chooses developer for St. John Home Depot site
After years of community engagement, redevelopment of the city-owned St. John Home Depot site is finally happening. City Council Thursday voted unanimously to select the joint proposal from developer Greystar and the Housing Authority of the City of Austin. The proposal includes 560 residential units – half of which would be affordable at 50 to […]
Posted inCity Council
Jimmy Flannigan: Taking care of unfinished business
Since losing to Mackenzie Kelly in Northwest Austin’s District 6 runoff election, City Council Member Jimmy Flannigan has focused on keeping his head down, continuing to work and trying to “figure out what’s next.” “There’s a lot of work that you do as a Council member hoping that you get a second term – a […]
Posted inCity Council
Greg Casar: 2020 was the ‘hardest year’
“I was wrong,” Council Member Greg Casar said. He was recalling his observations of 2017, the first year of the Trump presidency. At the time, he’d called it “a hellish year” – but that was before he knew what a hellish year was really like. It’s a year of pandemic, made worse by an economic […]