AUSTIN, Texas — While many long-time Austin residents likely know which city council district they live in, many folks who moved here recently or who are only just digging into local politics may not.
It's always important to be aware of your community, but with five Austin City Council seats on the November ballot, now is a great time to make sure you know who represents you – especially if you'd like to have a say moving forward.
Below is a map of the council districts, created by the City of Austin. The yellow-brown district at the top is District 6, followed clockwise by the green District 7, blue District 1, coral pink District 3, yellow-green District 2, pale blue District 5, light green District 8 and light pink District 10. District 4 is the purple-pink district between districts 7 and 1, and District 9 is the yellow district in the middle.
The City has an interactive version of the map where you can look up your address to see which district you live in.
Let's further break down where each district is located in Austin and whether your city council member is up for re-election this November.
District 1 covers primarily northeast Austin. The current councilmember for District 1 is Natasha Harper-Madison, who is running for re-election against three other candidates.
Clinton Rarey, Melonie House-Dixon and Misael Ramos are challenging Harper-Madison.
District 2 covers most of southeast Austin. The current councilmember for District 2 is Vanessa Fuentes. She is not up for reelection this November.
District 3 covers Central-East and East Austin. Six candidates are running to replace District 3's current councilmember, Sabino "Pio" Renteria, who has reached his term limit.
Those six candidates are José Velásquez, Daniela Silva, Jose Elias, Gavino Fernandez, Yvonne Weldon and Esala Wueschner.
District 4 covers primarily parts of North and Central Austin. The current councilmember for District 2 is José “Chito” Vela. He is not up for reelection this November.
District 5 covers primarily South Austin and part of Central Austin. Six candidates are running to replace current District 5 councilmember Ann Kitchen, who has reached her term limit.
Those six candidates are Ken Craig, Ryan Alter, Aaron Webman, Stephanie Bazan, Bill Welch and Brian Anderson.
District 6 covers northwest Austin. The current councilmember for District 6 is Mackenzie Kelly. She is not up for reelection this November.
District 7 covers primarily northwest and North Austin. The current councilmember for District 7 is Leslie Pool. She is not up for reelection this November.
District 8 covers southwest Austin. The current councilmember for District 8 is Paige Ellis, who is running for reelection against three candidates.
Kimberly Hawkins, Antonio Ross and Richard Smith are challenging Ellis.
District 9 covers Central Austin. Eight candidates are running to replace current District 9 councilmember Kathie Tovo, who has reached her term limit.
Those candidates are Ben Leffler, Zohaib Qadri, Joah Spearman, Linda Guerrero, Tom Wald, Greg Smith, Suzanne Mitchell and Kym Olson.
District 10 covers West Austin. The current councilmember for District 10 is Mayor Pro-Tem Alison Alter. She is not up for reelection this November.
Of course, everyone in Austin is represented by the mayor and, this year, all registered voters will have the opportunity to choose who will next take the city's top job. Current Mayor Steve Adler has reached his term limit and cannot run for re-election, but six candidates are vying to replace him.
Early voting for the November election ran from Monday, Oct. 24, until Friday, Nov. 4. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
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