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Mayor pro tem fights 3 candidates to keep Central Austin District 9 council seat

Austin Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo gathered more than 4,700 signatures from District 9 voters in order to secure her name on the November ballot. Three other candidates hope to unseat her.

AUSTIN — While Austin Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo has secured a spot on the November ballot to run for Austin City Council for the third time, three other candidates hope to represent Central Austin’s District 9 starting next year.

KVUE has reached out to each candidate to determine where they stand on key issues. Check back on this story as their responses trickle in.

Kathie Tovo

Tovo was elected to city council in 2011 and served on the last at-large city council before she was reelected in 2014 as District 9 council member. Due to the ambiguity about how the shift to district representation impacted term limits, she decided to exercise the city charter option to secure the support of 5 percent of the qualified voters in her district to run for a third term.

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Austin mayor pro-tem gathers thousands of signatures, secures re-election bid

Although 2,800 signatures were required, Tovo said her re-election signature petition garnered more than 4,700 signatures from District 9 voters.

Prior to serving on Austin City Council, Tovo taught writing and interdisciplinary studies at the college level and worked at Humanities Texas. She was former president of the Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Association and vice president of the Austin Neighborhoods Council. She also served on city and school district boards and task forces.

Isiah Jones

A University of Texas student studying government, Jones advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana, Downtown housing prices and traffic on Interstate 35, according to KVUE’s media partners at the Austin American-Statesman.

Linda O’Neal

O’Neal has taught at Akins High School and Del Valle High School for 15 years, according to her campaign website.

She is fighting for issues such as affordability, homelessness, keeping the music scene alive, the environment, race and police accountability.

Danielle Skidmore

A transportation engineer, Skidmore contends that she can help solve Austin’s “mobility puzzle” if placed on city council. She has lived in Austin for 24 years.

Her platform includes accessibility, mobility, sustainability and equity.

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