A look at 2026 Council races

Today I want to take a surface-level look at the declared candidates for City Council. Candidate interviews will come later. Right now I just want to look at the money they've raised and the message they're presenting online.

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District 1

Incumbent Natasha Harper-Madison's second term on Council, marked by frequent absences, constant staff turnover, and incoherent (but oddly eloquent) rants on the dais, is coming to an end. It's a tragic conclusion to what appeared to be such a promising entry to politics 7 years ago.

Steven Brown: Brown, a lifelong East Austin resident who works for a medical device company, is an example of the strange alliances that are made in local politics.

Most of the positions he touts on his campaign website are progressive-coded: environmental protection, racial justice (including a 2012 lawsuit against the Austin Fire Dept over hiring practices), public health advocacy etc. But he was also briefly co-chair of Save Austin Now, the conservative PAC run by Matt Mackowiak, during the campaign against Prop Q. He told Ken Martin, however, that he quit after Prop Q's defeat.

Brown has also been active in opposing land use reform such as HOME and is leaning into an anti-growth narrative about protecting low-density residential zoning.

So far he's the only candidate in the race who has reported campaign contributions. He has reported raising just under $6,000. His contributors include familiar anti-growth names such as former D1 Council Member Ora Houston and Save Our Springs activist Robin Rather.

Alexandria Anderson: Anderson, a former track star and fitness entrepreneur, has registered as a candidate but has not yet reported raising any money. I can't find a campaign website for her but she is president of the E. Martin Luther King Neighborhood Association and a profile of her (h/t Austin Bulldog) describes her as heavily involved with the Austin Neighborhoods Council and community groups such as Raasin in the Sun.

The ANC involvement strongly suggests that, like Brown, she is a skeptic of increased market-rate housing supply and land use reforms that enable it. I left a voicemail on the number listed on her campaign finance form but haven't heard back.

Amber Goodwin: Goodwin has not declared but is widely expected to jump in the race. I sent her an email yesterday asking if she has plans to run but haven't heard back.

Goodwin is co-founder of the Community Violence Legal Network, a group that works on gun violence prevention. Before that she was a Travis County Assistant District Attorney focused on gun violence prevention. She advised the Biden administration's transition team on gun policy.

From what I've heard, Goodwin is expected to be the urbanist or pro-housing voice in the race, or at least the closest thing to it.

District 3

Jose Velasquez (inc): So far Jose Velasquez has not drawn any opponents. He raised over $27k last year and has over $32k on hand.

District 5

Ryan Alter (inc): Alter is running for his second term in less-than-ideal conditions. He was hit harder than anyone else by the Statesman coverage of questionable expenses among Council members and he was one of the most vocal backers of Prop Q, which in his district failed 35.6-64.4. His efforts to get the Sunrise Navigation Center relocated might pay off, though.

He raised $25k in the most recent period and has just nearly $83k on hand.

David Weinberg: Weinberg, a public affairs consultant and Zilker resident, is running a campaign with strong appeals to the anti-growth crowd and those who perceive City Hall as profligate and incompetent. Weinberg's most notable foray into city politics was running a PAC three years ago against the Zilker Vision Plan.

"I’m not running for City Council to be the smartest person in the room," says his campaign site. "I’m running to listen."

There's a lot of familiar language about community input on development and city spending.

Weinberg has raised almost $11k but he has loaned himself $275,000! That is quite a statement: 275k is a much more than necessary to run a robust City Council race. We'll see if he actually ends up spending it all.

Farrah Abraham: If you’re old enough to remember MTV, Abraham rose to quasi-prominence on the show 16 and Pregnant and a later spinoff, Teen Mom. She later did a stint in porn. Recently she announced her candidacy for mayor, only to find out (during a live interview with TMZ) that that particular job isn’t up for grabs this year. So now she says she’s running for District 5, although there are credible doubts about whether she lives in D5. 

Her unconventional resume would make for an interesting story if she had interesting things to say about city politics. As far as I can tell she hasn't made any case against Alter but has repeatedly mocked Weinberg for his campaign loans.

Abraham recently dismissed concerns about her residency, writing on Instagram, where she has 2.7 million followers, "AI states I'm in District 5 and current reporters and candidates are out of date and do not use AI nor proper maps and do not know my address."

I don't get why people find this interesting. It's hardly notable that a demented tabloid personality is running for City Council if we've already got one as president.

District 8

I wrote in greater detail about the candidates in this race last year.

Paige Ellis (inc): In order to evade term limits and run for a third term, Ellis has to gather roughly 3,400 signatures (5% of her district's voters). That will require a substantial investment of labor and money just to qualify for the ballot. Ellis raised about $20k in the most recent period and has $100k on hand. She and her husband, Ed Espinoza, have lent the campaign $30k.

Selena Xie: Xie, the former president of the Austin EMS Association, raised $25k in the most recent period and has loaned her campaign $25k. She has $75k on hand.

District 9

Zo Qadri: Qadri must be feeling pretty good about his position. More than anyone else, Qadri has taken advantage of the end of restrictions on when elected officials can raise money. He has been a prolific fundraiser throughout his first term and entered this year with $182,000 in the bank. He also represents the only district in the city where Prop Q passed and he has proven himself extremely adept at getting the votes of UT students, a long-overlooked constituency in city politics.

Richard Heyman: The former UT instructor, who was controversially fired for an alleged scuffle with cops at a pro-Palestine protest, is challenging Qadri on a leftist anti-growth platform. He's raised $8,500 and has $7,600 on hand.

Ard Ardalan: Personal injury attorney Ard Ardalan declared his candidacy last year but has since abandoned it.

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