Seven additional candidates have entered Austin’s 2026 City Council races by appointing campaign treasurers, expanding the field for five seats on the Nov. 3 ballot and further crowding the open District 1 contest after Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison said she will not seek a third term.
Following up on a January roundup of early contenders (previous report), 20 candidates have now appointed treasurers for the five districts on the ballot—Districts 1, 3, 5, 8 and 9—according to candidate filings and city elections information. One previously listed contender, Ard Ardalan in District 9, has said he is withdrawing but has not yet canceled the treasurer appointment. Four incumbents are seeking reelection, and their campaign finance reports filed Jan. 15 show they collectively held more than $430,000 in cash on hand; challengers collectively reported nearly $359,000, though 10 candidates entered after the Dec. 31 reporting deadline and therefore showed no fundraising in the January reports.
The newly expanded field is developing months before formal ballot filing opens. Under city rules, candidates can begin filing for a place on the ballot July 20 and must file by Aug. 17, and they must have lived in the district continuously for at least six months before that deadline—making Feb. 17 the latest date to establish in-district residency for the 2026 cycle. Campaign finance limits also shape early strategy: individual contributions are capped at $500 per election per person—$500 for the general election and another $500 if there is a runoff—and the city clerk lists aggregate limits for donors outside Austin at $48,000 for the general election and $32,000 for any runoff. Council members earn $131,241 annually and receive a $450 monthly vehicle allowance and a $900 annual wireless phone allowance.
District 1 remains the focal point for new entrants, with seven candidates now pursuing the open East Austin seat. New to the field since January are Amber Karessa Goodwin, a Travis County assistant district attorney; Michael David Nahas, who has emphasized pension and debt concerns as well as housing supply; Misael Daguan Ramos, a 2022 District 1 runner-up who is campaigning again; Portia Teshay Riggins, making her first run for office; and Kyra Lorena Rogers, a small business owner who told the outlet she was not yet registered to vote but had submitted an application. Goodwin has highlighted gun-violence prevention in prior public remarks: “Nothing happened in Texas (following Uvalde). It’s infuriating. It still makes me angry every single day.” said Amber Goodwin, Spectrum Local News. In a separate interview connecting safety to neighborhood inequality, “Your zip code is increasingly deciding whether you live or die in a city like Austin.” said Amber Goodwin, The Trace. The contest unfolds in a district shaped by long-running debates over displacement and infrastructure, including I-35 and transit and land-use decisions that have historically affected political power in the area.
In other districts, incumbents’ cash advantages continue to define the early map even as challengers file paperwork. District 3 Council Member José Anwar Velásquez is seeking reelection and remained unchallenged in treasurer appointments as of late March, after winning his seat in 2022; his prior statements have emphasized frequent direct constituent contact. “We really wanted to change the narrative around what representative government can look like. I do 15 to 20 one-on-one coffee chats per month with anyone who wants to sign up for them, I do block walking, I do constituent call-back time … and we host a community service group.” said José Velásquez, Council Member Austin Monitor. In District 5, where incumbent Ryan Alter is already facing challengers including Farrah Laurel Abraham and David Mendleson Weinberg, new entrant Robert Jeffery Costello filed as a would-be candidate; the district has been framed in prior coverage as a test of affordability and budget constraints, including the city’s limited fiscal room after recent revenue debates. In District 8, incumbent Paige Johanna Ellis is seeking another term through a petition process previously reported, and challenger Selena Xie has already launched a campaign. In District 9, incumbent Zohaib Ahmad “Zo” Qadri remains the best-funded incumbent on the ballot, while new entrant Katherine Anne “Katie” Kam filed paperwork highlighting a background in civil engineering and city infrastructure work.
The campaign calendar now turns to formal filing and the next required fundraising reports, with eligibility questions likely to center on the Aug. 17 deadline and the six-month residency rule. City elections guidance places the start of candidate filing on July 20, leaving several months for additional entries, withdrawals, or changes in reported cash on hand before voters begin seeing final ballot lineups for the Nov. 3 general election, with winners taking office when the next terms begin in January 2027.
