Austin’s longest-serving council member, Kathie Tovo, says she’s seriously considering a run for mayor in 2022. The current mayor, Steve Adler, is term-limited and won’t be running again in 2022.
Tovo represents District 9, which includes the Central Business District, Bouldin Creek, Travis Heights, the University of Texas, and Hyde Park.
She was one of four council members to vote against the Land Development Code rewrite in February 2020, though she has backed narrower measures to increase density and housing supply in parts of the city.
Tovo told the Austin Monitor in a year-end interview that she’s “strongly considering” a run for mayor, though she stopped short of declaring a bid.
Looking ahead, the council member said public safety is a “primary concern” as the city grapples with increased violent crime. Tovo voted in favor of a cut to the police budget and staffing in August 2020, but now says too many officers have left the force.
“We had lots of officer retirements,” she said. New cadet classes are in the works, using a revised curriculum, which should help fill that need, she added.
Tovo also recently spearheaded the launch of a “Safer Sixth Street” initiative after multiple homicides, stabbings, and shootings in the entertainment district.
Two other prominent Democrats have expressed interest in running for mayor: Kirk Watson, a former mayor (1997-2001) and state senator (2007-2020), who’s likewise said he’s seriously considering a run but hasn’t made a decision; and Celia Israel, a state representative since 2014 who formed an exploratory committee to advise her on a potential mayoral run.
Additionally, two long-shot candidates have already declared: Jennifer Virden, a real estate investor and Republican who ran unsuccessfully for Alison Alter’s council seat last year, and Erica Nix, a fitness trainer.
Adam Loewy, a personal injury lawyer and conservative Democrat, has also teased a potential run.
