Campaign Cash Cascades Into Council Candidate Coffers

July 15 was the most recent campaign finance reporting deadline for potential Austin City Council candidates (among other offices), the last such milestone before candidate filing begins. So this report, which covers the first six months of 2022, is the best indicator so far of who's got a real shot come November – or, for most City Hall races, in an inevitable December run-off.

The big news was the eye-popping $997,000 total raised by former Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, seeking a return to that office after giving up his Texas Senate seat in 2020 – the most ever by any Council candidate. Since contributions are limited to $400 per person, that's more than 2,000 people who made donations since Watson first announced his intentions in February. His main opponent, outgoing state Rep. Celia Israel, raised $253,306 from January to June. But the real number to keep an eye on now is cash on hand, of which Watson has nearly $758,000 and Israel $160,246. In between them is conservative standard-bearer Jennifer Virden, who came in a close second to Alison Alter in the 2020 D10 race, with $347,616 on hand – $300,000 of that a loan to herself.

The equivalent numbers for the contenders in the five Council races on the November ballot are in the chart (at left). In Districts 1 and 8, incumbents Natasha Harper-Madison and Paige Ellis each have around $100,000 on hand, which in Harper-Madison's case is enough to have apparently cleared her field (opponent Clinton Rarey only has a few hundred dollars). Ellis' conservative challenger Richard Smith has enough to be more competitive, but has also needed to self-finance to get in the game.

Somewhat surprisingly, two of the three open seats, each with multiple serious contenders, have clear leaders of the pack, with cash on hand in the same range as the incumbents – Aaron Webman in District 5 and Ben Leffler in District 9. In both races, late entrants with the backing of the retiring current members (Ken Craig/Ann Kitchen and Linda Guerrero/Kathie Tovo) are expected to be competitive come the fall but have some catching up to do. In District 3, José Velásquez has been the most visible candidate to replace Pio Renteria, but there's still plenty of time for second-place fundraiser Daniela Silva – or an entrant yet unknown – to catch up.