Council Dance Cards Filling

Spelman (Photo by John Anderson)

Add another contested election to the May 12 council ballot, with two candidates announcing that they'll challenge Place 5 incumbent Bill Spel­man. In a Valentine's Day surprise, military veteran and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board external relations director Dominic Chavez filed paperwork Feb. 14, announcing that he is running on a platform of workforce education, public safety investments, and ending the "long-term financial instability at Austin Energy." Along with his longtime ally, former Texas Monthly publisher Mike Levy, Chavez and Demo­cratic activist Alfred Stanley sued the city in 2011 over its historic property tax abatements, resulting in an out-of-court settlement. Spelman and Chavez will be joined in the hunt by Texas State University entrepreneur-in-residence and single-member district supporter Tina Cannon, who will formally launch her campaign on Feb. 17.

Also on the ballot: Anti-fluoridation campaigner Laura Pressley is taking on Place 2's Mike Martinez, while Mayor Lee Leffingwell faces former Council Member Brigid Shea, Citizens Communi­ca­tion regular Clay DaFoe, and self-proclaimed mushroom tea party candidate Nicholas Lucier.