Austin mayoral election 2024: A look at Kirk Watson and Carmen Llanes Pulido

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

FOX 7 Austin News sat down with all the prospects, and 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 two, we are showcasing the final two candidates.

MORE ON THE 2024 ELECTION

The incumbent, Kirk Watson, has four challengers for the 2024 Austin City Mayor Election.

Mayor Kirk Watson served his first term as city mayor in 1997 and was reelected with a sweeping majority vote. He then spent 13 years working in the Texas Senate.

"In order for Austin to be a complete city, the kind of city we've all fallen in love with and never wanted to leave, we need to be focusing on affordability; we can't go backward," said Mayor Kirk Watson.

In 2023, Watson returned to Austin City Hall to take his third term, but his time in office was cut short when the city voted to align the mayoral and presidential elections. He is campaigning for reelection because he said work still needs to be done.

"I'm asking voters for a full four-year term," said Mayor Watson. "This has only been a two-year term for a full four-year term, so that we continue to make the progress that Austinites deserve."

Other contenders, including opponent Carmen Llanes Pulido, are ready for the incumbent to hand over the reins.

"It is time for us to have new, accountable, community-driven leadership," said Carmen Llanes Pulido. "This is not the mayor of consensus of the 90s."

She has spent the past two decades operating alongside neighborhoods, schools, and local organizations throughout Austin. Llanes Pulido feels that her relationship with the community is what sets her apart.

"I was, for 10 years, a city commissioner on three different commissions," said Llanes Pulido. "I served on the inaugural Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, the Latino Quality of Life Commission, making budget recommendations to the council and the planning commission for four years."

Both candidates addressed their goals to tackle the homeless crisis. Watson said he has made improvements during his time but plans to do more.

"One of the first things I did was make an agreement with the state of Texas to put $65 million into Austin's efforts to reduce homelessness and people living homeless," said Watson.

Watson mentioned he wants to build on services, including rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, and emergency shelters.

"We're approaching the closing of encampments is not to just show up on a day with trash trucks and police," said Watson. "It is instead to reach out and to develop some trust on the front end, and we're finding that that's a lot more successful."

Llanes Pulido also spoke about enhancing services, but she has a different outlook.

"We can spend less on the extremely ineffective and cruel sweeps that we spend millions of dollars on and put more of that money toward improving our services," said Llanes Pulido.

She wants to allocate more money towards prevention programs to help before they reach the point of living on the streets.

"We need more sober living opportunities, more social services, but we don't have to spend more money to do that," said Llanes Pulido. "We can stop demolishing the most affordable apartments that do exist in Austin, which I think has contributed to the homelessness crisis."

Llanes Pulido wants to implement additional methods that she believes could help crack down on crime.

"In my experience, we've lowered property crime rates in communities up to 35% by improving basic lighting, park infrastructure, community programs that promote positive use that actually alleviates pressure and allows the police to respond to more serious 911 calls," said Llanes Pulido.

However, Watson said he is working on ways to refine the department and feels there has already been noticeable progress since the start of his two-year term.

"I think last month was the first time in five years that the Austin Police Department had more officers that had come into the system in a given year than had left for the first time in five years," said Watson.

Both candidates agree that a contract is necessary, but Watson hopes to extend it beyond the standard three to four years.

"We need to turn the corner on the relationship with the Austin Police Association and APD," said Watson. "By having a five-year contract, I think it creates greater stability and sends a longer-term message."

"Right now, we don't have a contract that really looks at training and retention and other issues that are critical to address the vacancies in our police department, just putting more money there doesn't necessarily solve the problem," said Llanes Pulido.

The five nominees have common goals and different visions of achieving those objectives.

"I think most people would agree now we've made real progress," said Watson. "We are moving and getting things done."

The matchup for mayor is a crucial race in city politics as they will be responsible for giving the final say in the annual budget, deciding the city ordinance, and setting property taxes.

"We really agree on those outcomes. If we can cut the politics and the special interest from things, I think we have a brighter future ahead of us," said Llanes Pulido.

Early voting starts on Monday, Oct. 21, and ends on November 1. The election for Austin City Mayor is one of six city council races on the ballot.