Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect the result of Paige Ellis' petition to seek a third term and the city's Aug. 26 ballot order draw.
Almost two dozen candidates filed to run in Austin's five City Council races this fall, three of which include incumbents seeking reelection.
The big picture
Half of Austin's council seats are on the November general election ballot, with candidates in districts 1, 3, 5, 8 and 9 seeking four-year terms starting in January. Residents can look up their council district online.
Districts 1 and 8 have open seat races, as two-term council members Natasha Harper-Madison and Paige Ellis reach their term limits and will leave office in January. Incumbent District 3 council member José Velásquez, District 5 council member Ryan Alter and District 9 council member Zo Qadri are all seeking to hold their seats.
Zooming in
Following the August deadline, 22 local candidates are likely in contention for the five contested council positions. Candidates are listed in ballot order, set by the city's random draw held Aug. 26.
District 1
- Rich Heyman
- Katie Kam
- Zo Qadri (incumbent)
- Dave Thadani
- Kai Huang
Runoff elections are required when no candidate wins at least 50% of the vote in their race. Any runoffs would be held Dec. 12.
Some context
Ellis was term-limited, but petitioned her constituency this year to allow her to seek a third term.
Such petitions must be signed by at least 5% of qualified voters in an elected official's jurisdiction. District 8 had 60,887 qualified voters as of January, according to the city clerk's office, meaning the signature threshold for the district in this election is 3,044.
Ellis' campaign reported signatures from more than 3,400 voters were collected for its petition, submitted ahead of the candidate filing deadline Aug. 17. In a statement at the time, Ellis said she was encouraged by her constituents' support to continue serving in the role she's held since 2019.
However, after a week of review the clerk's office found Ellis' petition fell 62 signatures short of the threshold to once again run for the Southwest Austin seat. Ellis said her campaign had previously verified the petition against voter files and believed it would be validated, but that she accepted the outcome of the city's review.
"We respect the Clerk's process and accept the result, and we'll continue to communicate with the Clerk in the coming days to understand the specifics of that gap. I am deeply proud of the effort our volunteers and supporters gave to this drive," she said in a statement. "This means my time in public service will end in January, but I couldn't be prouder of what we've built together. On behalf of me and my entire team, it has been an honor to serve the people of Southwest Austin, and I look forward to continuing to connect with this city in new capacities, whatever those may be."
What residents should know
All Austin voters will also be considering two bond propositions and multiple charter amendments on the Nov. 3 election ballot.
Residents have until Oct. 5 to register to vote in the general election. Voter registration information is available from Hays, Travis and Williamson counties and from the state of Texas.
Early voting will run from Oct. 19-30, and the last day for eligible voters to apply for a ballot by mail is Oct. 23.
