About this event
On November 5, 2024, Austin voters will head to the polls to cast their ballots for the next mayor of the 11th largest and one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Facing growing challenges surrounding affordable housing, public safety, land use, and mass transit, the candidates for mayor will face each other in a thoughtful discussion of the most pressing issues facing young people in Austin.
This event is convened by the LBJ Urban Lab and cohosted with Austin PBS.
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED
2024 Austin Mayoral Candidates
Jeffery Bowen
Jeffery Bowen is the owner of a small construction business, doing remodeling, remodel conversions, project management and general small contracting, not a developer. Bowen has been involved with Austin Neighborhoods Council for about 10 years, and is currently the first vice president. Previously, he served as the Sector 8 neighborhood representative for 5 years and was very involved in the Maple Run neighborhood group for many years and now co-hosts an online neighborhood Facebook page. He has spoken at the Legislature numerous times, meeting with land use committees on issues such as property rights and local control. He was also a member of the Project Connect Ambassador's Network (PCAN) for several years prior to the vote on Project and remained on the group afterward. He holds a degree in Management/Human Resources from Park University as well as degrees in Construction Sciences and Teaching from the Community College of the USAF.
Doug Greco
Doug organized for 17 years with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), the nation’s largest and longest-standing network of faith and community-based organizations, including 12 years as Lead Organizer with Central Texas aInterfaith, a coalition of 35 congregations, labor unions, schools, and nonprofits across the Central Texas region.
Doug has also served as Chief of Staff to State Rep. Gina Hinojosa and as Director of Programs with Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization.
Doug got his start in organizing as a teacher at Johnston High School (now Eastside Early College High School) in East Austin, where he taught for five years after moving to Austin after graduating from Brown University in 1997.
Carmen Llanes Pulido
Llanes Pulido is the executive director of GAVA (Go Austin/Vamos Austin) and a former member of a variety of city organizations, including the Planning Commission and the inaugural Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, which created Austin’s first district map.
Carmen Llanes Pulido’s campaign, which she announced on Jan. 23, focuses on affordability, climate-proofing the city, preserving what makes Austin unique, reinvesting in the community and spending resources equitably. She hopes to achieve these goals by allocating resources for more affordable housing, limiting ‘no-strings giveaways,’ expanding protections for renters and tax incentives to negotiate more investments in anti-displacement.
Kathie Tovo
Kathie Tovo is a dedicated advocate for working families and everyday Austinites, with a long career in public service, both as a community leader and an elected official where she championed progressive values at City Hall. Kathie is well-known for her commitment to honest, transparent, and community-driven government.
First elected to City Council in 2011, Kathie has a proven record of standing up for women, workers, immigrants, and the LGBTQIA+ community. Kathie was elected by her colleagues to serve as Mayor Pro Tem from 2015 to 2019, providing leadership and institutional knowledge during the historic transition to geographic representation (10-1). Kathie was re-elected to her District 9 Council seat in 2018 and served a third term on the Council, ending in January 2023.
Tovo’s campaign focuses on affordability and sustainability given Austin’s rising housing prices and widening pay gap, according to her website. She’s also calling for the continued implementation of recommendations from the Climate Equity Plan.
Kirk Watson
For three decades, Kirk Watson has been immersed in public policy, spanning local and state government in Texas. He served in the Texas Senate for over 13 years, leading on a wide range of issues and serving as a member and vice-chair of multiple standing and special committees and the Sunset Advisory Commission.
His peers elected him President Pro Tempore of the Senate in 2019.
Watson was appointed in 1991 by Gov. Ann Richards as Chair of the Texas Air Control Board, the agency charged with addressing air quality issues. He was Vice-Chair of the committee that oversaw creation of the agency now known as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
He was first elected Austin mayor in 1997, where he won praise for bringing different political sides together around transformative environmental and economic development initiatives. In 2012, serving in the Texas Senate, he led the effort to build a new medical school at The University of Texas at Austin.
Moderators
Francheska Castillo, a graduate from the University of Miami, is a bilingual journalist. At just 23 years old she started her career as an associate producer at Telemundo 51 in Miami before becoming a reporter for Univision 62 in Austin. Growing up in a Latino household and being the only grandchild to speak English and Spanish she believes that being bilingual is one of her greatest strengths. It is a privilege for her to be able to give a voice to those in her community, and to be able to do that in two languages amplifies the amount of people she can connect with.
Luz Moreno-Lozano is the Austin City Hall reporter for KUT. She took over the job last summer after five years covering communities for the Austin American-Statesman. She has spent the majority of her career covering communities and local politics. Luz was born and raised in San Antonio and is a graduate of Texas A&M University.
Kylee Howard is the current News Editor of The Daily Texan, UT Austin's student newspaper. A third-year journalism student, also studying history and Spanish, she started at The Texan her first semester as a general reporter before working her way up to editor. Kylee is primarily interested in covering local and state government, public policy and local issues.