The state of the race: fundraising
Who's raised money & who's broke?
We're now six days from the start of early voting. Money isn't everything in politics, but it's still important. So let's take a look at who's got money and who's broke in the City Council races.
The figures I'm reporting are rough & rounded and I am not going to bother list candidates who have not made a meaningful effort to raise money. I linked to every candidate website I could find, though.
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District 1
In East Austin's District 1, which is currently held by the departing Natasha Harper-Madison, Amber Goodwin is way ahead on fundraising. Steven Brown and Misael Ramos have raised enough to not be entirely counted out though.
Amber Goodwin
Total raised as of Sept. 24: $99k
Cash on hand: $38k
Misael Ramos
Total raised: $44.7k
Cash on hand: $12.4k
Steven Brown
Total raised: $31.2k
Cash on hand: $8.1k
Two other candidates, Michael Nahas and Portia Riggins, have raised and spent minimally.
District 3
Nobody appears to be mounting a serious challenge to José Velasquez. One of his challengers, longtime neighborhood activist Gavino Fernandez, loaned himself $15k but otherwise hasn't raised any money. Candidates Brock Skinner and Eduardo Romero have raised less than $1,000. The only candidate who is making a semi-respectful effort is Neha Shah.
Jose Velasquez
Total raised: $111.2k
Cash on hand: $96.9k
Neha Shah
Total raised: $20k
Cash on hand: $5.9k
District 5
The District 5 race in South Austin is the only one where there is big money on both sides. Incumbent Ryan Alter began raising money for this race more than two years ago but opponent David Weinberg has caught up by lending himself an enormous sum. Tabloid personality Farrah Abraham hasn't raised any money.
Ryan Alter
Total raised: $190k
Cash on hand: $158k
David Weinberg
Total raised: $22.5k
Total loaned: $275k
Cash on hand: $172k
District 8
This race got a lot less interesting after Paige Ellis failed to qualify for the ballot. Selena Xie is a huge favorite against Jeffery Bowen, the conservative president of the near-obsolete Austin Neighborhoods Council.
Selena Xie
Total raised: $122k
Total loaned: $25k
Cash on hand: $113k
Jeffery Bowen
Total raised: $18.5k
Total loaned: $30k
Cash on hand: $12.6k
District 9
If there's one thing Zo Qadri is good at, it's raising money. More than any other Council member, he has taken advantage of the city's previous time limits on fundraising getting struck down in federal court. He raised $130k just in 2024.
Richard Heyman, who is running a lefty anti-growth campaign, has raised just shy of $50k, which isn't nearly enough to run a serious campaign operation in central Austin. Katie Kam, a transportation planner similarly running against recent zoning reforms, is running a shoestring campaign but will likely benefit from being the only woman in the race.
Zo Qadri
Total raised: 270k
Cash on hand: $152k
Katie Kam
Total raised: $18.6k
Cash on hand: $7.3k
Richard Heyman
Total raised: $47.2k
Total loaned: $20k
Cash on hand: $39k
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