AUSTIN, Texas — The deadline has officially passed for city of Austin candidates to file their paperwork to appear on the November ballot. Candidates had until 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 19.
That means we now know who is officially running to be Austin's next mayor. Current Mayor Kirk Watson is running for reelection and he has four challengers, including a former Austin City Council member and more than one community organizer.
Kirk Watson
Watson officially announced his reelection campaign in April and filed his paperwork to appear on this year's ballot on July 22. He has been serving his current term since the start of last year. If he is reelected on Nov. 5, he will continue to serve as Austin's mayor until 2029.
In his campaign announcement, Watson said that since starting his role in 2023, he has helped the city by adding housing reforms, filling empty positions within the Austin Police Department, launching the Austin Infrastructure Academy and working to help the city's homelessness concerns.
If Watson is reelected, he said he wants to make climate change response more of a priority, in part by closing down part of Austin Energy's Fayette Power Plant.
In 1997, Watson was elected to his first term as Austin's mayor. He was reelected twice, serving in the role until 2001. Watson was elected to the Texas Senate in 2006 and served as a state senator for 13 years before retiring to become the first dean of the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs.
In the November 2022 general election, Watson advanced to a runoff election against former State Rep. Celia Israel in the Austin mayoral race. Watson won the runoff in December 2022 and was sworn in as mayor of Austin for a second time on Jan. 6, 2023.
Watson attended Baylor University and "proudly holds an honorary degree from Austin Community College," according to his campaign website.
Kathie Tovo
In January, former Austin City Council member and Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo announced her intention to run for mayor. She officially filed her paperwork on Aug. 8.
Tovo most recently served on the Austin City Council, representing District 9 from 2011 to 2023. She was elected by her colleagues to serve as Mayor Pro Tem from 2015 to 2019.
Prior to her political career, Tovo received a Ph.D from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She previously taught writing and interdisciplinary studies and worked at Humanities Texas.
While on the council, she led committees on Public Health, Audit and Finance and Austin Energy Utility Oversight. She also created the Sobering Center, worked as chair of the Membership Council of the Ending Homelessness Community Coalition and served with the Austin Police Retirement Board.
Tovo currently works as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin.
Carmen Llanos Pulido
Also in January, community organizer Carmen Llanes Pulido announced her mayoral campaign before officially filing her paperwork on Aug. 2.
Llanes Pulido is a native Austinite who started her career as a community organizer with the environmental justice group People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources (PODER). She later took a job with Marathon Kids, where she worked for nearly a decade.
Llanes Pulido is the executive director of the nonprofit Go! Austin/¡Vamos! Austin (GAVA) and has also served on several city commissions, including the Planning Commission, the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and the Latino Quality of Life Commission.
She earned her degree from the University of Chicago.
Doug Greco
In February, interfaith organizer Doug Greco announced he would be running for mayor. He officially filed his paperwork on July 30.
For 17 years, Greco organized with the Industrial Areas Foundation, "the nation's largest and longest-standing network of faith and community-based organizations." That time included 12 years as the lead organizer of Central Texas Interfaith, a coalition of congregations, nonprofits, schools and labor unions that work together to address public issues.
He has also served as the chief of staff to State Rep. Gina Hinojosa and as the Director of Programs with Equality California. He says he got his start in the organization as a teacher at Johnston High School – now Eastside Early College High School – where he taught for five years after moving to Austin following his graduation from Brown University.
Jeffery L. Bowen
Jeffery L. Bowen filed his paperwork to run for mayor on Aug. 19, the final day for candidates to file to appear on the November ballot.
On his paperwork, he listed his occupation as "self-employed." He has lived in Texas for 35 years.
Bowen said Monday that his campaign is working on a website.