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A whimsical illustration showcasing Austin landmarks, with the text: Field Guide to Austin.
Field Guide to Austin
Discover (or rediscover) what makes Austin stand out.

Who's in charge in Austin? Three local leaders you should know.

The Austin Common | By Amy Stansbury,
Sylvia Asuncion-Crabb
Published July 15, 2024 at 5:01 AM CDT
An illustration with lots of hanging silhouettes and plaques with flags and seals of local and national government.
The Austin Common

Who's in charge in Austin? KUT and The Austin Common teamed up on the guide outlining the local government leaders and how they impact you.

A graphic titled "The Basics" with two small illustrations of podiums. Alongside the illustrations are the words: "As a resident of Austin, you have dozens of elected officials who represent you at several levels of government." There are three columns of text. The first one is labeled "Federal." The text underneath the "federal" column reads: "These are the folk who represent you in Washington. Every Texan has two U.S. senators and one U.S. House member who represents them." The second column is labeled "State." The text underneath the "state" column reads: "Not only does Texas have statewide officials (like the governor), but we also have a state Legislature. Every Texan has one state senator and one state representative." The third column is labeled "Local." The text underneath the "local" column reads: "There are even multiple levels of local government, including city, county and school boards."
The Austin Common
A graphic labeled "Local Government" with illustrations of small podiums, a police badge, a tree, a metrorail car and a small blue house. Alongside the illustrations are the words: "Today, we're going to focus on local/city government. And why should you care about that? It has a huge impact over your everyday life! Local elected officials make decisions about...our water and electricity supply, public transportation, policing and public safety, affordable housing, parks and homelessness."
The Austin Common
A graphic titled "City Council" with an illustrated map of Austin and highlighted sections with the 10 city council districts. Alongside the illustration is the text: "The structure of Austin's city government is often referred to as 10-1. That's because we have 10 council members (each representing a council district) and one mayor, who represents the entire city."
The Austin Common
A graphic titled "City Council" with illustrations of small podiums, a light bulb, a silhouette outline of a person and a piece of paper with the words "Ordinance No." and scribbled lines on it. The words "City Council Member" are above the silhouette. Beneath it are the words: "Elected every 4 years, Represents 1 district about 95,000 people)." Elsewhere on the graphic are the words: "You can figure out who your council member is at austintexas.gov/government. City Council creates big picture policies and passes new laws (called ordinances) for the city. Council also gets finals approval over the city's annual budget and basically serves as the board of directors for Austin Energy."
The Austin Common
A graphic titled "The Mayor" with illustrations of small podiums and a silhouette of a person. Above the silhouette is the word, "Mayor." Beneath the silhouette are the words: "Elected every 4 years, Represents the entire city." To the right of the silhouette are the words: "Here in Austin, the mayor is basically just the 11th member of City Council and doesn't technically have a lot more power than a regular council member. But the mayor does run the council meetings. The mayor also has a larger staff and tends to get more public attention, which can make it easier for them to advance their causes and priorities."
The Austin Common
A graphic titled "Council-Manager" with illustrations of small podiums and a flow chart with the city council at the top, a silhouette wearing a tie beneath it and three branches beneath it with three different people. Alongside the illustrations are the words: "Why doesn't the mayor have more power? That's because Austin operates under what's called a council-manager system of government. Under this system, the mayor is part of the legislative branch of government. City Council creates policies and an unelected person (called the city manager) implements them."
The Austin Common
A graphic titled "City Manager" with small illustrations of podiums, a dollar sign, calculator and a framed silhouette. The words "City Manager" appear above the silhouette, and the words "Unelected, Hired/fired by City Council" appear below it. To the right of the silhouette are the words: "The city manager is in charge of the city's 14,000+ employees and works with them to carry out council's policies. The city manager also writes the first draft of city's budget."
The Austin Common
A graphic titled "You!" with illustrations of small podiums, a woman standing and waving, an open mouth, an envelope, a computer monitor with a blue arrow clicking something and a round blue "I voted!" button. Alongside the illustrations are the words: "But do you know who the most powerful person in local government is? You have the ability to influence all of our local leaders by voting, filling out city surveys, sending emails and attending city council meetings."
The Austin Common

The Austin Common is a community news site and civic education organization that makes learning about local government fun by using art and social media to explain the news. You can keep up with The Austin Common by following them on Instagram (@The_Austin_Common) or subscribing to their weekly email newsletter.
Tags
Austin Field Guide: Be A Good CitizenAustin MayorAustin City Council
Amy Stansbury
See stories by Amy Stansbury
Sylvia Asuncion-Crabb
See stories by Sylvia Asuncion-Crabb
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