Austin mayoral election 2024: A look at 3 of the candidates

AUSTIN, Texas - Five candidates are vying for the position of Austin City Mayor.

FOX 7 Austin sat down with all the prospects, and we split their messages to voters into two parts so we could dive into the issues they want to address as they make their final case before the elections.

In part one, we are showcasing three of the candidates. The incumbent, Kirk Watson, has four challengers for the 2024 Austin City Mayor Election who all believe it is time for a change.

MORE ON THE 2024 ELECTION

First up is Jeffery Bowen. He is a retired United States Air Force veteran and the owner of a small construction business.

"Council is getting less and less concerned and don't want to listen to those of us that are residents and taxpayers here," said Jeffery Bowen.

Bowen feels his knowledge in building development gives him an edge over the competition in creating more affordable housing.

"I'm the only one out of the race that's ever pulled a building permit," said Bowen. "Even when you look at any of the existing council members, none of them have ever pulled a building permit and understand how difficult it is."

Then, Doug Greco, the longtime Grassroots Organizer and Former Executive Director of Central Texas Interfaith.

"I'm running for mayor because our city needs a leader who stands for all Austinites; not big money, not big donors, and certainly not Governor Abbott," said Doug Greco.

Greco is proud of his career history as an organizer. He also has a background in education as an AISD teacher for five years at Johnston High School, which is now Eastside Early College High.

"I'm running to be the first openly gay mayor in Austin's history," said Greco.

Another candidate with educational credentials is Kathie Tovo. She earned her PhD from the University of Texas in Austin, where she lectured classes as a grad student. Tovo feels her experience in the city council gives her the upper hand.

"I'm the one with the most city council experience, the most experience here at city hall," said Kathie Tovo. "Even the incumbent mayor has not served as long in city hall as I have. And so, you know, in addition to having served three terms and four of those years as mayor pro tem, I've got a long track record of experience."

Tovo said she is running because she thinks there is a lack of collaboration with the community.

"I've seen a mayor who does not appear to be working with the community will silence the public's voice here at the podium, and people had to go to court and sue for their time back and sue the council successfully for open meetings violations," said Tovo.

She is not the only nominee who wants to do things differently.

"We need a mayor who is going to fight for the working class and to maintain our middle class in Austin," said Greco. "We need to attack the cost of living that has gone through the roof."

Most of the contenders in this election agree there is a high demand for subsidized housing in Austin.

"Everybody comes up with all these great ideas about affordability, but honestly, even from a building standpoint, it's about affordable housing," said Bowen. "The city cannot control the cost of materials, the cost of labor."

Bowen has his own thoughts on lowering the cost of living, but he said it all starts with an audit.

"We can look at maybe capping some of the service fees for seniors; that's one way of maybe trying to help out a little bit," said Bowen. "Let's face it, our taxes are not going to go down if we don't understand what all is being spent."

Tovo said she plans to partner with the private sector to find new affordable housing while also preserving existing properties. Additionally, Tovo desires to lower childcare costs.

"Every family should have access to safe child care that they can afford, and so I'm really excited about some of the work that we did when I served on council to try to make child care more affordable, to really support that system," said Tovo.

Greco said he is campaigning to protect progressive values.

"Our working class has been shoved out of the city," said Greco. "We've become the fastest-growing city for millionaires. Our income inequality continues to increase, and our percentage of black and Latino residents continues to decrease."

These prospects touched on the homeless crisis and the city's relationship with the police department.

"The most amount of time they spend is dealing with mental health issues, and I think that really needs to be addressed," said Bowen.

Bowen's approach is to increase the number of cadet classes and address mental health within the department as well as with people who are without shelter.

"Where we need to do better is overnight shelter in transitional shelter because those are the points of entry where folks can get on the path to permanent housing," said Greco.

Something Greco and Tovo both mentioned is the need for a contract.

"We need to make sure that we've got a well-staffed police force, and that's going to depend on having a contract," said Tovo.

Each of the five candidates has a list of items on their agenda, but first, they must get elected.