AUSTIN, Texas — Kirk Watson, who served as mayor of Austin from 1997 to 2001, is getting his old job back.
Watson defeated rival Celia Israel on Tuesday in the runoff election for the job. The race was close. In Travis County, Israel led by 17 votes. Williamson County put Watson over the top, however.
Neither candidate in November secured the 50% needed to replace the current mayor, Steve Adler. Adler is termed out.
In 2002, Watson was the Democratic nominee for Texas attorney general — a race he lost to current Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. He joined the Texas Senate in 2006 and held the position until 2020.
Related story: Runoff candidates for Austin mayor have different visions for I-35 through the city
Watson will have a lot on his plate when he takes office. Austin is dealing with a housing crisis, an ongoing problem with homelessness and issues related to growth. Perhaps chief among those growth issues is the congested stretch of Interstate 35 that runs through the city.
A study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute ranks I-35 from U.S. 290 in North Austin to Highway 71 in South Austin as the third most congested in the Lone Star State. That same stretch ranks as the most congested for trucks for a third year running.
Watson supported the interstate's expansion during his time as a senator and supports TxDOT’s current plan.
“The TxDOT plan needs to be improved upon,” Watson said. “Over time, we’ve made big changes and I think we need to continue to ask for changes and continued improvements.”
Israel is a former state representative and her platform included protecting voting rights, supporting LGBTQ+ children, improving safety and investing in transportation infrastructure.
Watson will be sworn in on Jan. 6. His term is two years.
Also decided Tuesday were Austin City Council runoff races. The final numbers from Travis County are as follows:
City Council, District 3
- Jose Velasquez — 53.32%
- Daniela Silva — 46.68%
City Council, District 5
- Ryan Alter — 59.63%
- Stephanie Bazan — 40.37%
City Council, District 9
- Zohaib “Zo” Qadri — 51.24%
- Linda Guerrero — 48.76%