Mike Siegel won Austin's City Council District 7 runoff election, based on unofficial Travis County results shared Dec. 14.
Siegel ended up with 4,402 votes, or 51.2% in the runoff, while Gary Bledsoe finished just 206 votes behind at 4,196. All results are unofficial until canvassed.
“It feels wonderful. It feels like a vindication of what this campaign has tried to do, which is bring together diverse constituencies to really build people power," Siegel said in an interview. "This was a campaign that was operated by volunteers who put in hundreds of shifts, knocking [on] thousands of doors. It was supported by unions and environmental groups and progressive organizations, and we overcame big spending by at least five different [political action committees] that came against me, and we pulled it off in a very difficult runoff environment.”
Despite his loss, Bledsoe said he appreciated the efforts of his own campaign and said the tight runoff finish showed comparable support in District 7.
“Obviously we were hoping to win and we’re very disappointed in actually not winning. But I guess we’re encouraged in that we had made a clear distinction between us and my opponent," Bledsoe said in an interview. "I think it resonated with people, because you can see by the slim margin of victory that many people around accepted our view and version in terms of, whether its land-use policy, or whether it would be public safety, affordability, that people understood that and shared our vision about what needed to be done."
What else?
Siegel said he now plans to build a staff that's experienced at City Hall and will focus on access and constituent services. In addition to citywide priorities like housing affordability, climate change and justice issues, he also wants to focus on local disparities between northern and southern District 7.
"There’s not as many libraries, there’s not as many pools, there’s not as many amenities. I’ve heard about neighborhoods that can’t even get a stoplight built even though there’s a lot of car crashes," he said. "The difference between how Allandale and Crestview are treated versus Gracy Woods and Tech Ridge is a big concern for me."
Bledsoe also says he aims to continue pushing for his favored approaches with the "beautiful coalition" that came together in his campaign.
“It doesn’t feel good to lose, but I think that we clearly made a difference and the results show that. And the results are because of the clear distinction and the policy positions that we took ... that were embraced by the people," he said.
The runoff results matched both candidates’ general election finishes. In November, Siegel led with almost 13,700 votes or a nearly 40% share in the six-person race and Bledsoe finished behind him at more than 6,600 votes, or about 19.3%.
With about 8,600 voters participating, the lower-turnout contest fell roughly in line with many of Austin’s other December runoffs held since the city moved to its current City Council system. Since 2014, Austin’s geographic district-level runoffs have each drawn between about 3,800 and 24,300 voters to the polls.
After Siegel led in fundraising and spending through the year ahead of the general election, he drew about $78,500 during the same late October to early December window and spent $68,600. He reported just over $33,000 on hand the week before the runoff.
Bledsoe reported just under $68,000 in donations and about $97,300 spent from Oct. 27 through Dec. 4. He had about $61,300 still on hand in the week before the December runoff.
Updated 8:55 p.m. Dec. 14
Gary Bledsoe held his close lead in the City Council District 7 runoff contest after the first election day votes were tallied late Dec. 14.Bledsoe sat at 50.35% in the runoff and had 3,776 votes to his opponent Mike Siegel's 3,724—a 52-vote gap—with Travis County reporting results from 40 of 51 voting precincts.
Posted 7:34 p.m. Dec. 14
Gary Bledsoe took an initial lead in the runoff election for Austin City Council's District 7 seat, based on early voting results released Dec. 14.
The early totals put Bledsoe ahead with 2,878 votes, or a 50.77% share. Candidate Mike Siegel won 2,791 early votes, just 87 behind. Election day votes will be tallied and released later Dec. 14, and all results are unofficial until canvassed.
The overview
The two civil rights attorneys are squaring off in the North Austin district's December runoff after finishing ahead of four other candidates in the November general election. Neither won a majority of the vote, with Siegel just under 40% and Bledsoe with more than 19%, forcing the runoff. The pair were the top fundraisers and spenders among District 7 candidates this year.
Bledsoe has said his "common-sense" approach would include a focus on transparency at City Hall, improved police-community relationships and oversight, development policies shaped by neighborhood desires, and a push for civic climate initiatives. Siege's goals include the development of more housing citywide, maintaining police oversight policies and lowering response times, and advocating for local updates to counter conservative policies at the state and federal levels.
The victor will be the first new face from District 7 on the council dais since Leslie Pool was elected a decade ago. Pool has been the district's only representative since its creation after Austinites adopted a geographic council system, and she's reached her term limit and will leave office in early January.
The December contest will likely see much lower turnout than in November when more than 34,000 ballots were cast in District 7. Less than 14,000 early votes were recorded across three runoffs, including District 7's, countywide.
