Mayor Kirk Watson has been re-elected to a full term as Austin’s mayor, according to final results that have now been officially certified.
Watson defeated a slew of minor candidates, most of whom were running on more liberal platforms. He outran his closest competitor by close to thirty points and cleared a separate threshold, the 50 percent mark, to avoid a runoff by a handful of votes.
He previously served a term as mayor in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s before being reelected in 2022. That term was only two years due to changes in the city charter passed in 2021. The term to which he was just elected will last four years.
Watson’s partial term was marked by the undoing of far-left policies related to homeless camping and police defunding enacted by his predecessor. While issues with homelessness remain, they’ve largely been relegated to the city’s outskirts. The city and its police officers, meanwhile, reached an agreement on a longer-term contract earlier this fall.
Nevertheless, Watson continued Austin’s longstanding policy of overspending and tax increases. He also oversaw passage of a series of record-setting budgets with attendant increases in property taxes and utility rates.
In other Austin-related news, City Councilmember Mackenzie Kelly, the lone conservative on the dais, narrowly lost re-election.
Various actions taken by the Austin City Council are expected to come under review by the Texas Legislature during the upcoming session.
