Precinct 4

Raul Alvarez (Photo by John Anderson)

Former Austin City Council Member Raul Alvarez on Wednesday announced his candidacy for the Precinct 4 seat on the Travis County Com­mis­sion­ers Court, signaling to incumbent Commis­sioner Margaret Gómez that she'll have some tough competition if she intends to seek a fifth four-year term in 2010.

Gómez, who was out of town at press time, has not officially announced her re-election bid, but she's sitting on a $43,700 cash cushion, according to her July campaign filings, should she decide to mount another campaign. Gómez has drawn only token opposition in previous elections, but Alvarez's candidacy effectively turns the race into a serious match, especially given his early backing from Hispanic leaders and labor activists who had previously supported Gómez.

Margaret Gómez (Photo by John Anderson)

"People are ready for a fresh perspective," said Alvarez, who won a City Council seat in 2000 and served two terms. "Our community is changing, and we need leaders who are willing to change along with it." He cited growth-management issues as among the county's top challenges, particularly in Precinct 4 – the preferred growth corridor for southeast Austin and Travis County. The precinct also takes in large urban swaths of South Austin and parts of Downtown. Alvarez, currently a community coordinator for the Austin Independent School District, also serves on the board of Austin Community College. He says his professional and political positions over the years have given him a broader community perspective. "We can no longer afford to look at our challenges as just 'city issues' or 'county issues' or 'AISD issues,'" he said. "There's no reason, for example, why the county can't play a more active role in environmental sustainability issues."

Gómez has not had an easy fourth term, in large part due to her lack of leadership as board chair of Capital Metro, which in the last year has seen union unrest, a delayed MetroRail, and the early retirement of CEO Fred Gilliam.

Jack Kirfman, political action coordinator for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents city and county employees, said his group is seriously considering backing Alvarez over Gómez. "Margaret has been there for a lot of years, and we've supported her for a number of years," he said, but he pointed to Capital Metro's troubles as the main reason Gómez has lost favor with labor leaders.

Hispanic voters are also looking for new leadership, said civic activist Paul Saldaña. "A lot of people in the Hispanic community certainly welcome a change," he said. "Other people I've talked to outside of the Hispanic community are taking a wait-and-see approach."