It’s Official: Some People (Including Kirk Watson) Will Be on the Ballot

Monday, July 25, was the first day for candidates in local elections this November – including the Austin City Council, Austin ISD Board of Trustees, and Austin Community College Board of Trustees – to apply for their place on the ballot. As of 4pm on Wednesday, July 27, here's who's in for sure. We'll update this list as needed in future issues; last day to file is August 22.

Austin City Council

Mayor: Anthony Bradshaw, Gary Spellman, Kirk Watson (state Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, has yet to file)

District 1: Clinton Rarey (incumbent Natasha Harper-Madison has yet to file)

District 3: Yvonne Weldon

District 5: Bill Welch

District 8: Antonio Ross, Richard Smith (incumbent Paige Ellis has yet to file)

In addition to Israel, Harper-Madison, and Ellis, we're still waiting for several candidates who posted viable fundraising numbers on July 15, including Daniela Silva and José Velásquez in D3; Ryan Alter, Stephanie Bazan, Ken Craig, and Aaron Webman in D5; and all six of the declared candidates for D9: Linda Guerrero, Ben Leffler, Zohaib Qadri, Greg P. Smith, Joah Spearman, and Tom Wald.

Austin ISD Board of Trustees

District 1: Roxanne J. Evans, Candace L. Hunter

District 4: Heather Toolin

District 6: Andrew Gonzales

District 7: David Kauffman

At-Large Position 9: Arati Singh

The only incumbent to file so far is Singh; unlike the Council incumbents, the future plans of Kristin Ashy (District 4), Geronimo Rodriguez (District 6), and Yasmin Wagner (District 7) are not fully clear. We do know LaTisha Anderson is stepping down in District 1, and that Evans is the odds-on favorite to succeed her.

Austin Community College Board of Trustees

ACC hasn't posted any filings received yet, but we do know that Capital IDEA Director Steve Jackobs – who's sparred with ACC to try to get more people through the college's middle-skills programs, especially nursing – has filed for Place 6.