The Road to 10-1: A Dozen in District 3

Ballot Boxing, the 10-1 City Council forum series co-hosted by the Chronicle, KUT-FM, Univision, KXAN-TV, and the Austin Monitor will host a District 3 forum at 7pm at the North Door, located at 502 Brushy St.

The most crowed of the 10-1 races, the District 3 race features a dozen candidates and early doses of drama. The contenders are: Susana Almanza, Sabino "Pio" Renteria, Fred McGhee, Shaun Ireland, Kent Phillips, Mario Cantu, Eric J. Rangel, Julian Limon Fernandez, Ricardo Turullols-Bonilla, Jose Quintero, Jose Valera and Christopher Hoerster.

Designed as a Hispanic voter opportunity district (60.8% Hispanic/Latino), the area incorporates some of South Austin below Oltorf (to Stassney) as well as Montopolis, and the Cesar Chavez area eastward. Housing affordability, gentrification, and transportation top the list of issues important to candidates.

If things seem tense between Almanza and Renteria tonight, chalk it up to sibling rivalry – Renteria is Almanza’s brother and now, campaign competitor. Controversy erupted early on in this race when Almanza and McGhee were slapped with ethics complaints for failure to disclose. Allegations of intimidation and disloyalty have also surfaced in this heated race.

We’ll see if the players keep things cordial or if the claws come out.

For more on the candidates, read here: Campaign Snapshots: District 3

For candidate profiles, read here: D3 Profiles