AUSTIN, Texas — It won't be long before the Austin mayoral race heats up. The seat will be up for grabs in November, and those who have stated their intentions to run are starting to reach out to voters.
Candidates can't start filing paperwork to run for Austin mayor until next month, but on Wednesday night, former City Councilmember Kathie Tovo hosted a campaign event in South Austin.
She said the next mayor needs to work more closely with the community on big plans like the controversial HOME Initiative changes that were recently approved to address housing density.
"They should work with the community on those solutions,” Tovo told KVUE. “And that's not what happened with this most recent kind of sweeping battery of zoning changes. There were many community members who were calling for a more deliberative process, who were raising concerns that they were asking the council to address, and they didn't get addressed."
Tovo also said she would put forth a strong climate action plan to make sure the city can adapt to weather extremes.
The filing period for mayoral candidates will open in July.
Other candidates who have said they also plan to run are current Mayor Kirk Watson, community activist Carmen Llanes-Pulido and organizer and advocate Doug Greco.
Tovo most recently served on the Austin City Council, representing District 9 from 2011 to 2023. She currently works as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin.