Residents of Districts 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10 voted on who they wanted to represent them at City Hall this election season.
Two incumbents in Districts 2 and 4 fended off challengers, while District 6's Mackenzie Kelly was unseated by Krista Laine. Marc Duchen eked out a win against Ashika Ganguly to take over Alison Alter's seat in District 10.
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District 2
Council Member Vanessa Fuentes handily beat Robert Reynolds to hold on to her District 2 spot. Fuentes was first elected to council in 2020.
Fuentes had a staggering lead in District 2. Unofficial results showed Fuentes carried District 2 with 86% of the vote, compared to challenger Robert Reynolds’ 14%.
Fuentes told KUT the overwhelming support from her constituents was "validation." She said she wants her next term to focus on expanding transit access through the multibillion-dollar Project Connect proposal.
"I think it's a testament to the hard work that me and my team have been doing in serving District 2," she said. "These last four years, we've worked really hard in ensuring that we are delivering on progress for District 2, as well as really bringing City Hall into our community."
District 4
Jose "Chito" Vela faced four challengers in North Austin. Since taking over for Greg Casar in 2022, Vela has been hawkish on land-use issues. He was one of the most vocal supporters of the city's recent revisions to its land development code. His challengers seized on that record, arguing he's taken things in the wrong direction.
Vela commanded the crowded field of challengers in District 4 after early voting. Nearly 59% of voters supported the incumbent, with his nearest challenger, Monica Guzmán, getting 28% of votes, according to the Travis County Clerk.
The incumbent called his victory on election night "a validation of our housing policy."
"People in Austin were telling us that they prioritize housing affordability. This council has prioritized housing affordability, and the voters have rewarded me for that," he said. "So I appreciate that, and I really do feel like I'm on the same page [as] my constituents."
District 6
Mackenzie Kelly was defeated by challenger Krista Laine, who received 51% of the vote, according to Travis and Williamson county numbers. Ahead of the election, Kelly garnered unlikely support from some Democrats in the reliably purple district (though, it's worth noting this is a nonpartisan office). Laine said she wants to be the voice of Northwest Austin at City Hall by focusing more on affordability issues in District 6.
Laine won the district by 714 votes, according to unofficial results from Travis and Williamson counties.
In a tweet Wednesday morning, Kelly conceded the race, saying she "came up short this time."
Really proud of the work we accomplished, but we came up short this time. Thank you to everyone who supported us. I’ll continue to fight for our community—because we’re all fighters. Just because we’re down today doesn’t mean we’re ever out. Onward to the future!
— Mackenzie Kelly (@mkelly007) November 6, 2024
Laine said Wednesday she wasn't surprised by the outcome. She said she feels the district was "disconnected" under Kelly's watch, adding that she hopes to focus on "results, not rhetoric" during her term on the council.
"I'm ready to focus on what District 6 needs versus the incumbent, who kind of styled herself as the lone Republican, the lone conservative ... reflecting and working for conservatives across the city," she said. "Our district wants someone who will work for the services that our district needs."
District 7
Six Austinites ran for Leslie Pool's District 7 seat this election. Pool did not endorse anyone publicly, but Mike Siegel and Adam Powell have led the pack in fundraising to represent the North Central district at City Hall.
Siegel got nearly 40% of the vote, while Gary Bledsoe garnered 19% of votes.
The race will head to a runoff.
"It's great to be in first place," Siegel told KUT on election night, adding he's already gearing up for the mid-December runoff.
"I'm very thankful for all the support, from the community, from all the people who worked on this campaign," he said. "Of course, you know, would have been nice to be done tonight, but we have six more weeks of work ahead of us and, I'm very optimistic that we can win."
District 10
Marc Duchen and Ashika Ganguly were neck-and-neck Tuesday after early voting, but Duchen scaped by with a 485-vote win — 50.59% to Ganguly's 49.41%.
Duchen secured the endorsement of outgoing Council Member Alison Alter to represent the West Austin district. Duchen previously worked for Alter during her 2016 campaign. Ganguly has outraised Duchen in fundraising by a 2-to-1 margin and received endorsements from a slew of current and former council members.
The candidates offered drastically different visions to represent the district at City Hall.
Duchen told KUT on election night that he believed his campaign reflected the interests of District 10 voters.
"We tried to build a really broad-based campaign that had Democrats and Republicans and conservatives and liberals and people in the middle and libertarians and whoever else," he said. "We tried to focus on [district] issues ... and I think that resonated with voters."
Wednesday morning, Ganguly conceded, saying, "The results aren’t what we hoped for, but the work is just beginning."
