Welcome to our mayoral series! Five candidates are running to be Austin’s mayor, so for the next month, we’re sharing our interviews with them all. Get informed before you vote, y’all!
Kathie Tovo is on the City Cast Austin podcast today making her pitch to be Austin’s next mayor. Here’s a snippet of our interview:
Who are you?
“I'm Kathie Tovo, and I had the incredible privilege of serving on the Austin City Council for three terms. I also served for four of those years as mayor pro tem as we were making the transition with the brand new 10-1 Council.
I'm running for mayor because I'm committed to open and transparent government, and I believe we need someone in the mayor's seat who can steer the city council in that direction. I'm running because I believe we need a climate champion in the mayor's seat. I'm committed to working on issues of affordability and have lots of ideas for how we could move the bar in terms of affordable housing in the city.”
What makes you qualified to be mayor?
“I started my interest in city issues as a community member. I think that's probably my number one qualification. I got involved in my neighborhood association, and then served on some commissions. And having had that experience really made me a much better council member.
Having had that experience as a community member and then really that in-depth experience as a council member – working on city budgets, serving as the chair of the Audit and Finance Committee, and being out there working with constituents on a whole range of issues – makes me really well prepared for the role of mayor.”
What should the next mayor’s top priority be?
“Government that puts people first has been core to the work that I did as a council member and it is core to the work I'm going to do as mayor. We need a mayor who puts people first. We need a city council and a local government that puts people first.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For the full conversation, listen to the episode below.
