Council Member Greg Casar announced in a Dec. 16 message board post that he had enough votes to be elected by his colleagues as the city’s next mayor pro tem. The title is mostly ceremonial, often granted to the CM with seniority on the dais or to someone who would break through some kind of barrier – such as former Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza, the first Latina to hold the position – so it appeared Casar would sail through the backstage campaigning that has characterized past MPT races.
But Casar’s post ended on a now-telling note: After naming CMs Pio Renteria, Leslie Pool, and Ann Kitchen among his supporters, the District 4 CM wrote, “I would be honored to have all of your support.” The MPT is generally elected unanimously, as a gesture toward consensus on the dais, so Casar’s closing line indicated he did not yet have unanimous support.
Then, the next day, a statement from CM Paige Ellis objected to Casar’s declaration that he would be the next MPT, indicating her desire to appoint a woman as MPT because in January there will be a total of eight women on Council. “Our city has gone through a lot over the past two years, and we should begin 2021 with leadership that brings us together,” Ellis’ statement read. “As far as I’m aware, discussions are ongoing.”
Over the weekend before Christmas, CM Alison Alter mounted a countercampaign, making her own case for why she should be MPT. In a separate message board post on Dec. 22, Alter announced she had growing support; she also leaned into the desire to elect a woman MPT. “I believe it’s important for our children to see that women lead political institutions,” she wrote.
Alter’s campaigning led to the flipping of at least one vote. Pool initially posted her intent to support Casar as MPT but announced the switch in a reply to Alter’s separate thread; citing the “near super-majority of women” now serving on Council, Pool said she had reconsidered her position following feedback from constituents and community leaders.
Casar then posted his thread responding to calls that he should withdraw from the MPT race, acknowledging that a female MPT elected by a majority-female Council would send an important message on political representation in Austin politics, but he was clear that the next MPT should not be chosen as someone perceived to be a more moderate voice by reactionaries frustrated by Council’s leftward shift over the past four years. “We must make it clear that we are not willing to back down if we truly believe what we are doing is right for Austinites,” he wrote.
The post also suggests that Council should consider electing a female MPT from the Eastern Crescent, which has historically had less of a voice at City Hall than the wealthier and whiter central and western parts of the city. CM Natasha Harper-Madison was the unnamed, but obvious, choice here, and in yet another message board thread created on Dec. 28, Harper-Madison announced her own intent to be elected MPT.
“I believe the best way to get to where we want to be is through pragmatic solutions reached through collaboration with Austinites from all parts of the city and all walks of life,” Harper-Madison wrote in her pitch for the MPT role. “But I also have heard from my constituents and others that lived experience is an essential aspect of the leadership needed in the work to be done.”
So the jockeying continues but is expected to be settled ahead of Jan. 6, when new and returning CMs are sworn in. Check back next week for more.
This article appears in January 1 • 2021.