Former Austin City Council member Kathie Tovo announced Monday that she is running for the Texas House seat being vacated by Rep. Gina Hinojosa, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.
In a news release, Tovo said she is seeking the Democratic nomination to represent the solidly blue House District 49 seat because she believes state leaders are increasingly targeting their political opponents.
“The government of Texas is destroying our state’s quality of life by attacking our constitutionally protected public schools, banning books and applying political purity tests to professors and teachers, and attacking the personal rights of all Texans who don’t agree with the Republican Party,” Tovo said.
Tovo, who finished third in Austin’s 2024 mayoral race, did not immediately respond to an interview request.
She is a familiar figure to many voters in HD 49, which covers much of central Austin. Tovo served three terms on the City Council between 2011 and 2022 — first as an at-large member representing the entire city, and later as the District 9 representative. Most of the council district sits within HD 49.
During her council tenure, Tovo played a key role in some of the city’s most consequential and high-profile policy debates in recent history.
She was a leading voice for neighborhood advocates during the city’s yearslong effort to rewrite its land development code, which sought to allow more housing construction. Critics of the plan argued it would bring too much development too quickly, a concern Tovo often echoed.
Tovo also urged a cautious approach in 2019, when the council voted to lift the city’s public camping ban and effectively decriminalize homelessness. Two years later, Austin voters reinstated the restrictions through a ballot initiative.
Former colleagues have described Tovo as a deliberative and well-prepared policymaker — a reputation she alluded to in her Monday campaign announcement.
“Throughout my public service, I’ve demonstrated my ability to be thoughtful and prepared,” Tovo said. “I’m tough. I’m tested and I’m ready to get to work.”
Six others have filed to run for the HD 49 seat, according to campaign filings. They include Lynn Boswell, current Austin school board president; Montserrat Garibay, a state labor leader who worked in the U.S. Department of Education under President Biden; and Daniel Wang, an active member of local Democratic Party politics who was recently elected to the Travis Central Appraisal District Board of Directors.