Austin City Council to consider setting January special election for District 4 seat

The contest for District 4 Council Member Greg Casar's vacated seat on Austin City Council could be decided in late January.

Casar still has years left on his City Council term, but his recently announced run for Central Texas' 35th Congressional District also prompts his resignation from Austin City Council. With Casar's impending departure, council is set to vote on setting a special election for his replacement at its Nov. 18 meeting. Casar will continue to serve through that election.

Based on a schedule outlined by the city clerk's office, the special election could be held Jan. 25 with an early-voting period of Jan. 10-21. If no candidate wins a majority share of votes and a runoff is required, that election would be held March 22. In either case, District 4's new council member will be sworn in after election results are certified.

If the proposed schedule is approved, the filing period for District 4 hopefuls would open as soon as council officially orders the election and would close Dec. 16.

While the Austin Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission certified a new City Council district map last month, affecting council elections through the 2020s, the special election will be held under the existing District 4 boundary Casar was re-elected to last fall. Casar's term, and that of his successor, runs through Jan. 6, 2025.

In addition to the upcoming special election, the council dais is poised for further potential shakeups during next year's November elections with the offices of mayor and council members for districts 1, 3, 5, 8 and 9 on the ballot. The filing period for that election does not open until late July.