Meet Your 2020 Austin City Council Candidates
Today at 5pm marked the filing deadline to appear on the November ballot for Austin City Council.
Council seats for Districts 2, 4, 6, 7, and 10 are up.
All districts have at least one challenger to the incumbent council member, except for District 2 (an open seat due to Mayor Pro Tem Garza’s election to Travis County Attorney).
See below to learn more about the candidates. Candidate names are not listed in the order they may appear on the ballot.
Election day is Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Early voting runs from Tuesday, October 13, 2020 to Friday, October 30, 2020.
Contact Bingham Group for more information: info@binghamgp.com
District 2
David Chincanchan
David is a community advocate, organizer, and public servant raised in Dove Springs in Southeast Austin. Most recently, he worked as the Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor for Austin City Council District 3, which also represents South Austin. David is the son of immigrants and a first generation college graduate from the University of Texas at Austin. He advocates for workers' rights as a board member of his union- American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees #1624- and works to improve representation of the Latinx community as the Hispanic Caucus' representative on the Executive Committee of the Texas Democratic Party.
Vanessa Fuentes
Vanessa previously worked as the Senior Director of Grassroots Advocacy for the American Heart Association – SouthWest Affiliate. Prior to joining the American Heart Association, Vanessa worked as a committee director at the Texas State Capitol. Vanessa is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and has lived in Austin for 10 years. She serves her community with her involvement with the Young Women’s Alliance, State Representative for the State Board of Directors for Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas, and Junior League of Austin.
Casey Ramos
Casey is a professional boxer at Top Rank Boxing. He previously ran for Austin City Council District 2 in 2016. He is a graduate of Austin Community College and St. Edward's University. He is from the Williamson Creek neighborhood.
Alex Strenger
Alex is a pedicab driver and former substitute teacher for Austin ISD. He previously ran for Mayor of Austin in 2018. During his mayoral run, he was known for using satire to address the City of Austin's rapid growth, affordability, and traffic concerns. He is a graduate of State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton He has lived in Austin for 7 years.
District 4
Greg Casar (incumbent)
Greg is an Austin City Council Member representing District 4 for his second term. Greg is the youngest City Council Member in Austin’s history and serves as District 4’s first-ever direct representative. Greg’s priorities include social equity, shared prosperity, affordability, environmental stewardship, and public safety for all. He is an active member of Austin's Economic Opportunity Committee, Austin’s Development Committee and Public Safety Committee. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.
Louis C. Herrin III
Louis is a Professional Engineer for the state of Texas. Louis previously ran for Austin City Council District 4 in 2014 and 2016. Louis is a graduate of Texas A&M University. He has lived in District 4 for over 20 years. He served his community as the president of the Home and School Association at St. Louis Catholic School, co-chairman of the Campus Advisory Committee at Johnson High School, and a member of the Finance Board at St. Ignatius Catholic Church. He is currently an assistant scoutmaster and a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Ramesses II Setepenre
Information not available at this time. Updates to come when information becomes available.
District 6
Jimmy Flannigan (Incumbent)
Jimmy is an Austin City Council Member representing District 6 for his first term. Jimmy is a small business owner and community advocate. Jimmy has served as president and vice president of the Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, regional chair of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Austin Chamber of Commerce's Transportation Committee. He also co-founded the community leader support organization Northwest Austin Coalition. As a council member, he serves as Chair of the CAPCOG Economic Development board, Chair of the Council's Judicial Committee (expanded to the Public Safety Committee in June 2020), Chair of the Community Advancement Network, Vice Chair of the Council's Mobility Committee, a member of the Council's Audit & Finance Committee, on the executive committee of CAPCOG, and on the board of CAMPO, Hate Crimes Task Force, and Pecan Street Project. Jimmy is a graduate of University of Texas. Jimmy has lived in Northwest Austin for 20 years.
City of Austin; Campaign Website; Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn
Mackenzie Kelly
Mackenzie is an Austin native. For eight years, she served a firefighter. She then worked in emergency management, where she is currently pursuing her degree from American Military University. Currently, Mackenzie is a YouTube health and fitness coach. Her policy priorities include affordability, transportation, and public safety. She is the president of Take Back Austin.
Dr. Jennifer Mushtaler
Dr. Mushtaler is an Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialist and founded Capital Ob/Gyn Associates of Texas in 2010. She is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and UT Southwestern Parkland Memorial Hospital. She also is affiliated with St. David's North Austin Medical Center.
Dee Harrison
Dee is the Disaster Behavioral Health Services Manager with IDD and Behavioral Health Services at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Previously, she was the Senior Planner at the Texas Animal Health Commission. She was the Supervisor of the Homeland Security Policy and Plans Unit of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Dee is a graduate of Sam Houston State University. She currently serves as Treasurer for the Emergency Management Association of Texas (EMAT) and on the Board of Directors.
District 7
Leslie Pool (Incumbent)
Leslie is an Austin City Council Member representing District 7 for her second term. Leslie previously served in the Travis County Constable’s Office, Executive Board of Liveable City, and the Bull Creek Road Coalition. She also worked at the National Wildlife Federation, the Texas Department of Transportation, and served in the offices of Congressman Lloyd Doggett and the late U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen. Leslie is a graduate of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.
Morgan Witt
Morgan is a teacher who has taught K-12 Spanish and Adult Basic Education, teaching professional skills, GED, and digital literacy for English language learners. She is an Austin native. Morgan is a graduate of Austin Community College and Southwestern University.
District 10
Alison Alter (Incumbent)
Alison is an Austin City Council Member representing District 10 for her first term. Allison is a small business owner, a former professor, a community connector, and an environmental advocate. She chairs the Audit and Finance Committee, is a board member on the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, and is a member of the Mobility Committee, Austin Energy Oversight Committee, Austin Water Oversight Committee, CAMPO Subcommittee on the 2045 Plan and the Joint City, County, AISD Committee. She is formally a member of the Texas Colorado River Floodplain Coalition and Clean Air Force of Central Texas Board of Directors. She is a graduate of Harvard University and Stanford University.
City of Austin; Campaign Website; Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn
Pooja Sethi
Pooja is the daughter of immigrants and has an immigration law firm in Austin. She founded the non-profit South Asian Austin Moms (SAAM) because she wanted to help women who faced discrimination at work. She has served on the Mayor’s Task Force on Racism and Systemic Inequities (2016), Office of Police Oversight Task Force (2018), and Climate Equity Steering Committee Task Force (2019). Pooja is a graduate of George Washington University and Syracuse College of Law.
Jennifer Virden
Jennifer is a broker and builder at Austinhaus Realty & Restorations.
Robert Thomas
Robert is a graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans, University of Texas School of Law, and the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. He has served as chair of the Texas Facilities Commission, board member of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, and chairman of the Board of SafePlace. He has also worked as an attorney, businessman, and founding principal of a business strategy consulting and advisory firm.
Ben Easton
Ben previously ran for District 48 of the Texas House of Representatives in 2014 and 2016 as a Libertarian candidate. Ben also ran for the U.S. House to represent the 17th Congressional District of Texas in 2012. Ben is a graduate of Washington and Lee University. He previously worked as a teacher at St Andrew’s Episcopal School and Austin ISD. He now works as a freelance author.
Noel Tristan
Information not available at this time. Updates to come when information becomes available.