Although Austin may look different than it did two decades ago, its new mayor is no stranger to the city.
Former state senator Kirk Watson, who served as mayor of Texas’ capital city from 1997 to 2001, was elected to lead Austin again on Tuesday.
“I’m as grateful today as I was 25 years ago to be entrusted with this job,” Watson said, according to The Texas Tribune. “It means a lot to me to know that Austinites in every part of this city still want the kind of leadership that I’ve tried to deliver both as mayor and as your state senator.”
Watson edged out State Rep. Celia Israel in a runoff race that proved to be incredibly close.
Israel beat Watson in Travis County, which contains most of Austin, by 17 votes, but Watson led Williamson County by 881 votes and Hays County by just 22, according to The Texas Tribune. It was the closest mayoral race Austin has seen in decades, decided by less than 1% of the vote, according to NBC KXAN.
Watson proposed extensive plans to tackle Austin’s housing crisis and increase the city’s housing supply.
Both candidates focused on this crucial issue, with Israel calling for aggressive action and claiming she would work with pro-housing advocates.
New housing developments in Austin are often up against neighborhood advocacy groups and environmentalists, and Watson focused on a diplomatic strategy that would bring in more new housing without alienating the neighborhoods that oppose it, according to the Texas Tribune.
“When we choose to work together, we will heal old divides and solve old problems,” Watson said following his victory. “When we choose to work together, Austin’s future will get brighter and brighter and brighter, I promise.”
Watson’s campaign held a significant funding advantage at $1.8 million, nearly three times more than Israel’s, according to The Austin Chronicle.
The newly-elected mayor will have to run again in two years since Austin voters passed a proposition last year that moved the city’s mayoral elections from gubernatorial to presidential election years to increase voter turnout.
