Testimony related to the budget for the 2020 fiscal year was given at the Travis County Commissioners Court in August 2019. Precinct chairs for the Democratic and Republican parties will vote on behalf of citizens Sunday to select the candidates who will run for Travis County judge in November.
ELI IMADALI/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Four Democrats are competing for Travis County’s Precinct 2 seat on the Commissioners Court, pitching themselves as the best choice to steer the county through disasters, justice reform and rising costs — all as state lawmakers continue to tighten the screws on local budgets.
Incumbent Brigid Shea faces challengers Reese Armstrong, Rick Astray-Caneda III and Amanda Marzullo. With no Republican in the race, the winner of the March 3 Democratic primary will run unopposed in November and serve a four-year term.
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The court has been under full Democratic control since 2021 when Precinct 3 Commissioner Ann Howard replaced Republican Gerald Daugherty, who retired.
The five-member elected body oversees the county’s budget and operations, including the jail and courts, elections, taxes and infrastructure in unincorporated areas. Precinct 2 spans most of Central Austin, much of West Austin and part of the Lake Travis area.
The candidates largely agree on the county’s biggest challenges. All four cited flood risk and weaknesses in the county’s emergency alert system, exposed by the deadly flooding that hit northern Travis County last July. They also support expanding jail diversion programs, particularly for people experiencing mental health crises.
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Where they split is on past decisions.
Read More: Travis County commissioners approve 9% property tax hike, citing costly summer floods
Shea’s challengers criticized her support for a tax incentive deal with Tesla approved in 2020 and the Commissioners Court’s 9.12% property tax increase last year to replenish the county’s emergency response fund. Shea has defended both votes as necessary amid financial uncertainty and increasing climate threats.
Read on to learn more about the candidates, who appear in alphabetical order.
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Reese Armstrong: A young socialist focused on government services
Reese Armstrong is a candidate in the Travis County Commissioners Court precinct 2 Democratic primary.
Reese Armstrong
Reese Armstrong, a senior at McCallum High School, is an aspiring public servant who previously worked as an organizer for Students United while attending the Austin school district’s Liberal Arts and Science Academy.
Armstrong, who uses they/them pronouns, is running on a platform aligned with Democratic Socialists of America priorities, including social housing, free ambulance services and a pledge of “no new jails.” While such policies would require a major upfront investment, Armstrong argued they would reduce long-term costs in part by driving down housing prices.
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Armstrong also said they would bring a more independent voice to an all-Democratic Commissioners Court.
“I’ve committed to not conferencing with the current Democratic caucus, so I can bring a different perspective,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong has won endorsements from several young activists with groups including the local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.
Rick Astray-Caneda III: A public health-focused policy consultant
Rick Astray-Caneda III speaks as candidates for Travis County Commissioners Court precinct 2 meet with the Austin American-Statesman editorial board Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rick Astray-Caneda III comes from a public health and policy background. He is president of Friends of the David Powell Clinic, which provides HIV and AIDS services across the county, and previously spent more than a decade consulting for state and local governments.
Astray-Caneda said his priorities would include expanding county health programs, partnering with cities to build housing in commercial areas and improving disaster preparedness.
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“I look at things from a social vulnerability and resilience perspective,” he said. “Building a resilient community means bringing more people into how government works.”
He said community engagement is especially critical when preparing vulnerable neighborhoods for flooding or wildfires.
Amanda Marzullo: An attorney focused on criminal justice reform
Amanda Marzullo speaks as candidates for Travis County Commissioners Court precinct 2 meet with the Austin American-Statesman editorial board Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Amanda Marzullo, a civil rights attorney, is running on a promise to overhaul Travis County’s justice system.
She said most of the county budget flows to courts, prosecutors, the public defender’s office, the jail and the sheriff’s office — and that investing in efficiency and diversion could reduce costs while improving outcomes.
Marzullo said expanding diversion programs for people accused of low-level, nonviolent offenses would save money and limit the harm caused by short jail stays, including job loss and health problems.
She also expressed concern about undocumented immigrants entering deportation proceedings after being booked into jail, where staff must honor detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I want to work with the city of Austin so people arrested for low-level offenses don’t end up in jail and don’t get funneled into ICE custody,” Marzullo said.
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Marzullo has won endorsements from the University Democrats, Austin Young Democrats, Equity Action, United Workers of Integral Care and the local urbanist organization Aura.
Incumbent Brigid Shea: A long-time fixture in local politics
Commissioner Brigid Shea speaks as candidates for Travis County Commissioners Court precinct 2 meet with the Austin American-Statesman editorial board Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Brigid Shea, first elected to the Commissioners Court in 2015, is a longtime force in Austin politics. She helped found the influential Save Our Springs Alliance in the early 1990s and later served on the Austin City Council.
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In her re-election bid, she has won endorsements from a long list of Democratic Party-aligned groups, along with at least two local labor unions — including the Austin Firefighters Association — and some environmental groups.
Shea said her focus has been environmental protection and climate resilience. She pointed to a county initiative that retrofitted air-conditioning systems in county buildings to use treated wastewater instead of drinking water from Lake Travis — a change she said saves about 45 million gallons of fresh water annually.
If reelected, Shea said strengthening the county’s emergency alert system would be a top priority. She said that concern drove her vote for last year’s tax increase, which opponents note raised roughly twice the estimated $20 million needed to repair flood-damaged infrastructure.
“Our emergency staff said there’s a very real possibility we’re going to have more than one disaster a year,” Shea said. “We had to ask whether our emergency response fund was big enough.”
Explainer: What does a commissioners court actually do in Texas?
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Election info
Early voting in the Democratic and Republican primaries begins Feb. 17 and runs through Feb. 27. Election Day is March 3.