Austin Mayor Kirk Watson running for re-election

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin Mayor Kirk Watson has announced he is running for re-election.

Watson has been mayor since last January after he won a runoff election against Celia Israel in Dec. 2022. Watson had previously served as mayor in 1997.

"I’m running for re-election based not only on City Hall’s improved performance on basic services, but also on the strength of the progress we’ve made on big issues," said Watson on his re-election website.

He says that given a full term in office, his goals would be to:

Create more affordability through additional housing reforms
Fill vacancies in the police department and continue to enhance emergency services
Make further improvements to the city’s approach to fighting homelessness
Ensure that Project Connect and other big infrastructure investments, like the airport expansion, are executed with speed and efficiency
Respond to climate change, including an effort to shut down the portion of the coal-powered Fayette Power Plant owned by Austin Energy by January 2029

The mayoral election will be on the November ballot, along with elections for council districts 2, 4, 6, 7, and 10.

If elected, Watson would serve a full-term through 2029.

Watson joins former Austin City Council member Kathie Tovo, writer Doug Greco, and former city planning commissioner Carmen Llanes Pulido on the ballot.