Three new Austin City Council members, in Districts 6, 7 and 10, were elected in November. The new members will take seats on the dais in early 2025.
The Austin City Council works on staggered elections, with terms lasting four years.
Half of the seats are up for election during the presidential election cycle, while the other half are elected during midterm elections. This allows the council to maintain some continuity, so no councils are entirely composed of new members. Austin City Council members can only serve two four-year terms.
Council elections occurred in districts 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10. District 9, which includes UT and West Campus, did not hold an election. Council Members Vanessa Fuentes and José “Chito” Vela won their reelection campaigns.
District 6 council member-elect Krista Laine won her election bid to represent parts of North Austin. Laine is a co-founder of Access Education RRISD, a program focused on promoting inclusive equity, amplifying community voices and prioritizing educational integrity in Round Rock Independent School District.
Laine previously worked to unseat school board members with ties to the conservative organizations Moms for Liberty and Defend Texas Liberty PAC. Laine also served as president of Access Education RRISD, organizing efforts against the Texas Education Agency’s “overreach into local control of public schools.”
Laine defeated the only conservative-leaning councilmember, Mackenzie Kelly, in a tight race, winning 51.3% of the vote.
Mike Siegel, who previously ran as a Democrat for the United States House of Representatives, and Gary Bledsoe, a civil rights attorney, will head to a run-off in December for the District 7 seat. None of the six candidates who ran for the seat obtained the 50% threshold needed to win.
District 7 residents can vote in the runoff on Dec. 14.
District 10 member-elect Marc Duchen, who previously worked as a research director for the Texas Democratic Party, won his election over Ashika Ganguly, a former Austin public school teacher who worked for Texas Rep. John Bucy.
Duchen ran on issues including transportation, homelessness and public safety, according to his campaign website. His campaign focused on advocating for public votes on major projects, financial accountability, audits of the city budget and transparency in policy-making.
Fuentes defeated Robert Reynolds, a former Republican candidate for the Texas House of Representatives. Fuentes won the election with 85.7% of the vote.
Vela, who worked as an immigration attorney before winning his seat on the city council in 2022, won his reelection campaign against four other candidates with 58.5% of the votes.
