AUSTIN, Texas — After the City of Austin debuted its new logo in the fall, it faced a lot of criticism with many poking fun at the design. Now, the city says one group took it too far.
The political action committee Save Austin Now created a version of the new logo to send a message, replacing the word “Austin” with the word “audit.”
An attorney for Save Austin Now, Bill Aleshire, says the stylized “A” logo represents wasteful spending by the city.
“The fact they spent $1.1 million dollars just to create it, evokes the kind of outrage that taxpayers in Austin expressed in the November 2025 election,” Aleshire said.
Shortly after, Save Austin Now received a letter on behalf of the city from an attorney they hired. The letter stated that the group’s use of the design “will confuse consumers” and requested they remove it from their sites.
The PAC then filed a free speech lawsuit in state court. The city removed the state court lawsuit to federal court where this month they filed a motion for partial summary judgement asking the court to declare the group’s use of the logo not protected under parody. The PAC’s attorney says the city is asking the court to get ahead of itself.
“The court hasn’t even decided if it has jurisdiction,” Aleshire said.
We reached out to the City of Austin for comment, and in a statement, they said, “The City has two pending motions before the Court, but there are no new developments or rulings to comment on at this time.”
While the community waits to see what happens next, Austinites tell us they are frustrated.
One resident we spoke with, Arvin, says that he doesn’t want the city to waste any more money on the logo and legal battles around it.
“It’s not important what the logo is, but what the city is doing to help with people’s affordability concerns,” Arvin said.