Q&A: Austin City Council District 3 candidates advance to Dec. 13 runoff election

Why do you believe you’re the best fit for this office? What kind of voice would you bring to the council dais?

We have to work as one city and one district if we are going to tackle any of our major issues like housing, transit, housing our unhoused neighbors, and being better stewards of our environment. District 3 needs bold and inclusive leadership that creates space for new Austin but has the lived experience and community relationships to bring old Austin to the table. I have the lived experience and proven track record as a coalition builder to bring my district together and can speak with authority, intelligence, and trust in the community about the disparities of this city.

How would you work to tackle the issue of housing affordability for both renters and homeowners in the city?

We need to be able to build all types of housing in every part of the city. My family has been in Austin for four generations, so I know we can no longer continue to operate as a sleepy college town. We are now a major metropolitan area. We need to build broader and inclusive coalitions around housing and make it a city lift. Affordable housing can no longer be shouldered by three districts alone. I’d work hard with stakeholders and community advocates to rectify that.

What challenges or needs related to the overall city budget and property tax rate do you anticipate facing during your term? What fiscal strategies would you bring to the table to address those?

We need to work to eliminate redundancy, fund policy that is working and revisit initiatives that aren’t. Having a state-imposed 3.5% property tax cap will make it difficult to navigate and provide essential services. At the same time, we can’t fall for tricks in the Republican playbook—increased sales taxes hurt districts like mine the most. Working people can’t afford to shoulder the weight of tax increases that should be levied in a more equitable way. We always need to be able to articulate a clear and substantial public benefit in return for tax dollars spent.

How should council address the implementation of larger transportation initiatives including the I-35 expansion and Project Connect? What safety and mobility improvements would you propose for city roadways and bike/pedestrian routes?

We need as much community engagement as possible. I'm inspired by what I’m seeing from the city as far as engagement around Our Future 35 and look forward to building on that level of engagement. There are a number of safety and mobility improvements that I would support, and those include: more paved shoulders, separation buffers, better shared lane markings, bike boxes, raised pedestrian crossings and median refuge islands.

Austin has weathered several disasters in recent years. How would you rate the city’s response to such incidents, and what changes, if any, would you propose for civic emergency management operations?

It is clear to everyone that the city of Austin’s response during major disasters is lacking in a number of ways. We are a major national metro area, and every resident of Austin deserves thoughtful, carefully coordinated emergency response that acts quickly, whether in a crisis of public safety or natural disaster, or when something as simple as our water processing plants malfunction. Our city also needs to be prepared when state emergency response is also lacking—we saw during the beginning of the pandemic that state leadership can’t be trusted to care for the health and safety of Texans. The city must be ready to step up as state leaders fail to take swift action.

Why do you believe you’re the best fit for this office? What kind of voice would you bring to the council dais?

I am running for office because I am passionate about equity, justice and a city that can maintain long-term sustainability. I have a calling to serve and am deeply concerned about the future of our city and the direction we are headed if housing, health and environmental equity are not taken more seriously. It is time our elected officials not only have the academic and professional background necessary to do the job well, but the lived experience required to approach social, political and economic issues with nuance and empathy. I am prepared to be the next City Council member to represent District 3 by being equipped with a master's degree, which allows me to comprehend the policies that would be crossing my desk; experience working with government on a state, federal and international level; a history of organizing, activism and advocacy in Austin surrounding food insecurity, gerrymandering, homelessness and restorative justice; and the lived experience that comes with being a first-generation millennial queer woman who is working class and a renter.

How would you work to tackle the issue of housing affordability for both renters and homeowners in the city?

When I am a council member, I will work to ensure that middle-class Austinites are not forgotten in policy initiatives and can have access to affordable apartments and homes in the communities they serve. By building in a more equitable and dense fashion, particularly in transit corridors, we can drive costs down. Specifically, I support programs such as the “Affordability Unlocked” Development Bonus Program that waives or modifies some restrictions in exchange for not only providing low-income housing, but moderate-income housing as well. Furthermore, we need to upzone West Austin, ease compatibility restrictions across the city, zone change more commercial parcels to MU, ease unreasonable compatibility restrictions, remove parking minimums and allow building of small homes on tiny lots. I’ll be sponsoring and supporting changes making it easier to build more housing across the city. By looking at areas that have not felt as much development pressure, we can determine how they can help reduce some of the pressure felt by areas along the Eastern Crescent. This can be done by putting into action the dozens of studies conducted relating to our city-owned assets and their viability for housing development, especially of the “missing middle” type, i.e. duplexes, fourplexes and multifamily housing under 12 units.