By Sarah Gonzales and Shunya Carroll
Reporting Texas
Kirk Watson addresses an ecstatic crowd as he secures his third term as mayor of Austin on Tuesday night at El Arroyo. Sarah Gonzales/Reporting Texas
Kirk Watson says he’s ready to finish what he started after unofficially winning a third term as Austin’s mayor Tuesday night.
“These first two years in the mayor’s office have mostly been about getting us on the right track,” Watson said during his victory speech at El Arroyo restaurant. “But there’s more to be done. And while we’re finally now to build even more and really chart a new course for Austin’s future.”
He needed to finish with more than 50% of the vote to avoid a December runoff. Unofficial returns showed Watson getting the slimmest of majorities, with 174,904 votes, or 105 more than his four challengers combined.
Community activist Carmen Llanes Pulido ran second with 20% of the vote and former Austin City Council Member Kathie Tovo third at 17%.
Tovo, who has taught graduate courses in the University of Texas’ Community Regional Planning program and represented District 9 for three terms, conceded shortly after early voting returns came in.
“We need a local government that is going to listen to the people, that’s going to collaborate with people on the biggest challenges,” Tovo told supporters at Scholz Garten. “I’m going to continue to stay involved, and I hope you will all stay involved and engaged.”
Katie Tovo concedes her race for Austin mayor at Scholtz Garten on Nov. 5, 2024. Shunya Carroll/Reporting Texas
Watson, 66, served as Austin’s mayor in the late 1990s and then represented Austin in Texas Senate. He’s been credited with spearheading deals that developed the southwest corner of downtown and led to creation of the University of Texas medical school. He returned to the mayor’s office in 2023 for a two-year term — an abbreviated term designed to get Austin’s mayoral election on the same schedule as presidential elections. The mayor’s new term will be four years.
Watson’s campaign was focused on policies such as making housing more affordable, reducing the city’s homeless population and enhancing emergency services.
“Here’s what I hope that future looks like,” Watson said Tuesday. “It looks like a more affordable city with more housing options, more transportation options, more child care options and more career options,”
These improvements also include resolving staffing issues for the Austin’s Fire Department, emergency services and the Police Department, where officers and the city just agreed to a new contract with higher pay.
“It looks like a safer city with a fully staffed police, fire and EMS services that respond quickly and effectively and are fully accountable to the citizens they serve,” Watson said.
Watson supporter Kelley Sonnen credited the mayor’s successful re-election campaign to a strong community outreach effort stemming from lessons learned during Watson’s runoff victory in 2022. Sonnen said campaign workers were better prepared and proficient when speaking to voters.
“Our phone banking … the questions and the answers that we were given were so specific to each little thing (Watson) was focused on that I think were really helpful,” Sonnen said.
In his closing remarks Tuesday, Watson said that the end of this race begins the collective effort for all voters and candidates to come together to achieve a better future for the city.
“I think almost all of us agree on where we want to go. Let’s start now and how we all want to work together to do what’s best for Austin,” Watson said. “Tomorrow we will all be one Austin and let’s get it done.”
Two people walk into McMillan Memorial Hall, a polling precinct at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary on the edge of the University of Texas at Austin campus on Nov. 5, 2024. Raquel Mira/RepTexas
Students pick up free pizza outside the Texas Union, a polling location at the University of Texas at Austin, on Nov. 5, 2024. Madeline de Figueiredo/Reporting Texas
Voters line up to cast their vote at the Texas Union on the University of Texas at Austin campus on Nov. 5, 2024. With roughly four hours before polls closed, the line ran out the door. Sarah Gonzales/Reporting Texas
A University of Texas at Austin student walks toward the shuttle bus line where students could catch a ride to other polling locations around campus on Nov. 5, 2024. Luke Lawhorn/Reporting Texas
David Grisham, a religious protestor from Repent Alaska, preaches outside the polling center at the Texas Union on the University of Texas at Austin campus on Nov. 5, 2024. "Let the Bible be your voting guide," he said. Rebecca Butler/Reporting Texas
Abby Reyna, a student at the University of Texas at Austin, stands outside the Texas Union where voters were casting ballots on Nov. 5, 2024. Reyna said they chose to wear a costume based on Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" because this election is hinging on women's rights to bodily autonomy. Rebecca Butler/Reporting Texas
A campaigner for Kathie Tovo hands out materials to students outside the Texas Union, a polling location on the University of Texas at Austin campus, on Nov. 5, 2024. Madeline de Figueiredo/Reporting Texas
A volunteer holds up a vote sign at the corner of Guadalupe and 24th Street outside the Texas Union, a polling precinct on he University of Texas at Austin campus on Nov. 5, 2024. Madeline DeFigueiredo/Reporting Texas
Maeve McGuinness pauses as she hands out information about local propositions on the University of Texas at Austin campus on Nov. 5, 2024. Jasmine Wright/Reporting Texas
Maeve McGuinness passes out information about local propositions as potential voters listen to her pitch on the University of Texas at Austin campus on Nov. 5, 2024. Sarah Gonzales/Reporting Texas
Members of the Orange Jackets, a service organization at the University of Texas at Austin, encourage people to vote outside the Texas Union polling location on Nov. 5, 2024. Luke Lawhorn/Reporting Texas
Glen Maxey sits outside the Texas Union where a shuttle takes people to vote at other precincts near the University of Texas at Austin campus on Nov. 5, 2024. Maxey, representing the University’s Democrats, is the oldest member having worked with them for over three decades. Luke Lawhorn/Reporting Texas
A sign on an Austin Capital Metro bus outside the University of Texas at Austin reminds riders that trips to the polls are free on Nov. 5, 2024. Shunya Carroll/Reporting Texas
David Warner, right, a former professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, volunteers with the University Democrats outside a polling station at the University of Texas at Austin on Nov. 5, 2024. His organization was providing a shuttle service to and from polling locations around campus. Warner said he hoped to see young voters turn out in high numbers for the elections. Meredith McKelvey/Reporting Texas
Students at the University of Texas at Austin ride a shuttle to a polling station during the U.S. presidential election on Nov.5, 2024. Meredith McKelvey/Reporting Texas
First time voter Raimah Rahman,18, emerges from McMillan Memorial Hall at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary after casting her vote during the presidential election in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2024. "I voted for Jill Stein because she supports Palestine instead of Israel, as opposed to Harris and Trump,” Rahman said. Alex Lamb/Reporting Texas
University Democrats volunteer Liz Frankley, right, guides a student to the shuttle transporting voters to other precincts at The University of Texas at Austin campus on Nov. 5, 2024. Sarah Gonzales/Reporting Texas
Political campaign signs decorate the grounds outside the Texas Union, a polling location for the presidential election on the University of Texas at Austin campus on Nov. 5, 2024. Shunya Carroll/Reporting Texas