Jose "Chito" Vela announces plans to run for Austin City Council

AUSTIN, Texas - Jose "Chito" Vela has announced his candidacy in the special election to fill the open seat for Austin City Council District 4. 

Chito Vela is an immigration and criminal defense attorney who has served on the City of Austin Planning Commission, as board chair for the Workers Defense Project, and as president of the Blanton Elementary PTA, according to a press release from his campaign team. In 2018 he came within 200 votes of winning the runoff election in the Democratic Primary Runoff for Texas House District 46. 

"As an immigration attorney, I work with people every day who are struggling to stay in Austin," Vela said on Twitter. "We must be a welcoming city for working-class people, not a playground for the wealthy."

This isn't Vela's first time running in an election. In 2018, Vela actually got more votes than Texas State. Rep. Sheryl Cole in the Democratic primary for House District 46 but he eventually lost to Cole in a runoff.

The current District 4 Council Member, Greg Casar, automatically resigned his seat when he announced his candidacy for Congress on November 4th.

Casar will be running in Texas Congressional District 35. The seat is open because longtime Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett is running for the newly redrawn Texas Congressional District 37.

In a post on social media, Casar said, "A better world is possible, if we fight for it. Organize for it. That's why I'm running for Congress. To stop the attacks on working Texans. To win Medicare For All, good jobs, affordable housing, & a strong democracy."

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