Chronicle Endorsements for the Travis County Runoff Election

The Chronicle Editorial Board provides the following endorsements to Democrats in advance of early voting (Monday, December 2, through Tuesday, December 10) and election day, Saturday, December 14. Visit austinchronicle.com/elections for more information on the races and important voting information.

City Council District 7: Mike Siegel

Leslie Pool will leave big shoes to fill in North Central Austin, as one of the city’s most engaged and experienced Council members. We think Mike Siegel is best suited to taking on that task because of his experience as a grassroots community organizer and former city attorney. We like Siegel’s positions on major issues: he’s pro-housing, supportive of police transparency (he won the recent “G file” court ruling that strengthened the Austin Police Oversight Act), and has promised to be a voice for labor in local policymaking.

AISD AT-Large Position 8: Fernando Lucas de Urioste

In the runoff for Austin ISD’s at-large seat, Lindsey Stringer faces Fernando Lucas de Urioste. We recommend de Urioste for his systems-oriented approach. He is an expert in special education (an ongoing challenge for the district) and we feel his style will mesh well with the other wonks on the board such as Lynn Boswell and Arati Singh. In our endorsement meeting, Stringer strongly critiqued the district in several areas, notably its education of students of color. But there is some reason for concern about the depth of her progressive values, as she has declared herself pro-life in the past. She says that’s irrelevant to this race, but we’re not convinced.