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For the first time in eight years, east and northeast Austin neighborhoods will have new representation at City Hall.

The race for the District 1 seat — which stretches from Interstate 35 all the way to the border of Pflugerville — is the most crowded of the five City Council elections this November, with six candidates vying for the seat formerly occupied by Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison, who is leaving the position she has held since 2019.

In a forum hosted by Austin Current, Austin PBS and KUT, most of the District 1 candidates weighed in on the biggest issues facing their district and the city, including affordability, affordable housing and the bond election. They also discussed the Dog’s Head development and Proposition I, which amends the city charter to require an independent efficiency audit of all city departments every five years, separate from the ordinance that requires recurring independent efficiency assessments of all city departments every three years.

Candidates are listed in the order they will appear on the ballot. Watch the full forum here:

Steven Brown

Fourth-generation Austinite Steven Brown said he is running because he cares about his community and has heard their concerns. The 100th anniversary of the 1928 master plan that segregated Black residents into a designated “Negro District” east of what is now Interstate 35 is approaching. Brown said he’s running to make sure that history never repeats itself and that his community continues to move forward with “dignity and pride.”

Brown is the chair of the Givens Park Working Group, a community-led group guiding city improvements to Givens Park, and has worked for the last 20 years as a health care professional. That work, he said, has taught him the power of teamwork, empathy and accountability. He said “radical transparency” is the most important issue facing his district in 2026.

He’s supportive of the upcoming bond proposals for park and library investments, but worries City Hall hasn’t shown enough fiscal restraint in recent years, especially after pushing the tax rate election forward last fall, something he said he spoke out against.

“I was not able to stay in Austin so long, trying to make ends meet, raising two kids, without making sure that I had a balanced budget,” Brown said. “I believe the City Council needs to make sure that they’re doing the same things.”

He said he supports Proposition I, the external audit charter amendment on the ballot this November, and thinks the Dog’s Head development was handled inappropriately. On affordability, Brown said the city needs to focus on subsidizing affordable housing rather than relying on increased density alone.

Brown raised $16,410 from Jan. 1 through June for his campaign.

Alexandria Anderson

Alexandria Anderson has called Austin home for the last two decades and is “deeply engaged with the residents of East Austin … listening to residents, advocating down at City Hall and actually putting the priorities of the community into action.”

She serves as chair of the city’s Commission for Women, the African American Resource Advisory Commission and her neighborhood association, the MLK Neighborhood Association. She said her work on commissions, neighborhood associations and her time as a community leader and small business owner have prepared her to serve District 1 constituents at City Hall. She said affordability is the most important issue facing his district in 2026.

“If people cannot afford to stay, then everything else becomes harder to do,” Anderson said. “Housing is going to be, in my opinion, the main issue that is going to be (a) ripple effect into everything else.”

As someone who believes there needs to be greater investment in parks and libraries in District 1, Anderson said she supports the two bond proposals on the November ballot.

While she thinks the park and library bond money is needed, she said, in general, the city should clearly identify its priorities and desired outcomes, with input from residents, before asking taxpayers for more money.

She supports Proposition I, saying the city needs to “do a better job of efficiency,” and thinks the community surrounding Dog’s Head should have been better included before council voted on the development. She thinks the city should place greater priority on building affordable housing across Austin, rather than concentrating it in the eastern districts, with a greater focus on deeply affordable housing.

Anderson raised $26,797 from January 1 through June.

Amber Goodwin

Goodwin has called East Austin home for about 20 years. She’s worked in all levels of government, which has included organizing for former President Barack Obama’s campaign, serving as the chair of Austin’s Gun Violence Task Force, and currently serving as an assistant district attorney in Travis County. She said affordability is the most important issue in District 1.

In Austin, “what ZIP code you live in determines whether or not your life expectancy is high or low, and that’s just not acceptable,” she said. “We want to make sure that our communities are healthy and safe and also that people have the dignity and respect that they need.”

Goodwin said parks and libraries are “the backbone of East Austin” and supports both bond packages on the ballot this November.

When the city whittled down the bond proposal, it left off potential investments in transportation, something Goodwin said is needed in District 1.The city needs to look at “how we are actually getting people from the parks, from the libraries, across East Austin,” she said.

On economic opportunity, Goodwin said she has already created a plan to establish a fund that could help people in District 1 access housing.

She said she does not support Proposition I, which she sees as an attempt by an outside group to “do what the federal government did with DOGE in the City of Austin.”

She said the way the Dog’s Head vote was handled was incorrect and lacked transparency. She also said she recognizes that East Austin disproportionately contains much of the city’s affordable housing, but that there is still a need for more deeply affordable housing across the city and especially in District 1 — housing that is affordable for families earning at or less than 30% of the median family income.

Goodwin has raised the most among District 1 candidates, at $91,346.

Mike Nahas

An economist, Mike Nahas said he has been working to lower rents since 2017. He has served as board chair of AURA, a nonprofit advocating for a more affordable and walkable Austin, and as chair of the city’s Economic Prosperity Commission. He said the most important issue facing District 1 is affordability and, if elected, he is committed to making City Hall more financially responsible.

“One key focus of my campaign is the money in people’s wallets,” Nahas said. “I think we should spend our money better, and I have the skills to do it.”

Nahas said he supports the $35 million library bond, especially its support of a new library in District 1’s Colony Park. As for the $260 million park bond, he said he recognizes a need for greater investment in pools but worries that if the city acquires more parkland, it won’t be able to fund its maintenance in the future.

“I think we need to focus on long-term investments,” Nahas said. “Roads are the most valuable asset in Austin. We don’t have a transportation bond to improve those roads. We need to make sure we fill potholes and keep those roads smooth.”

He supports Proposition I, with some caveats. He believes putting an efficiency audit requirement in the city charter is the best way to ensure long-term financial accountability, but worries a clause calling for an audit before future tax rate elections could limit the city’s ability to call one during periods of high inflation.

Nahas felt the Dog’s Head agreement was handled badly and lacked transparency. On affordable housing, Nahas said the city should allow more housing in more places and reduce minimum lot sizes to help lower housing costs.

Nahas didn’t report raising any money in the first six months of the year.

Portia Riggins

Portia Riggins was unable to join the Sept. 15 forum but shared some of her positions via email.

Riggins has lived in District 1 her whole life. She has worked in the accounting department at Texas REALTORS, at the Travis Central Appraisal District, Austin 311, and at a Porsche dealership, “where I gained experience related to transportation and mobility,” she said.

On affordability, she said new development cannot come at the cost of demolishing existing housing and displacement.

“As District 1 grows, longtime residents deserve the opportunity to remain while we also welcome new neighbors,” she wrote. “Where existing housing can be safely renovated and preserved, that should be considered alongside new construction.”

She said transparency and fiscal accountability are central to why she’s running for the position.

“Accountability doesn’t end when an audit is published,” she wrote. “We should be able to see what changed afterward, how much was saved, whether corrections were completed, and whether residents received better service.”

Riggins raised $800 for her campaign from January through June 30.

Misael Ramos

Misael Ramos has called Austin home for 20 years, spending the bulk of that time advocating in the community. Ramos said he’s running because the district needs someone willing to consistently show up to “be the voice of the working class and challenge the status quo at City Hall.” He previously ran for the District 1 seat in 2022, winning just over 25% of the vote against Harper-Madison.

Most recently, Ramos was a business analyst at the Texas General Land Office but says he has experience as a leader on “affordable housing development, public transit advocacy, anti-displacement work and taking on the affordability crisis head-on.”

He said affordability is the top concern in District 1 and feels City Hall needs to make changes to become more financially responsible. Ramos supports both city bond proposals, saying the Colony Park library would be a boon for his community and some District 1 parks are in need of more funding.

“We also have heat islands that are causing the temperature to increase in our area,” he said. With more green spaces, “we can actually decrease that.”

On the Dog’s Head process, he said, “the transparency was horrible. We should have had communities at the table to begin with.”

Ramos said he does not support Prop I because an independent audit ordinance has already been implemented at City Hall, and he doesn’t trust the group behind the push for the charter amendment. He said the city needs to focus on creating housing units for families earning 30% or less of the Median Family Income — about $40,000 annually for a family of four.

Ramos raised $24,871 from Jan.1 through the end of June.

Following the shooting of Wilber Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan migrant in Austin. Ramos joined dozens of others to protest the incident. The Department of Public Safety said in a statement to our partners at KUT, that he was “captured on camera taking construction barricades, sandbags, and other items and attempting to obstruct traffic.”

DPS arrested Ramos almost a week later on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 26, and he was booked into the Travis County Jail on a charge of participating in a riot, a Class B misdemeanor. He was released later that evening on a $1,000 bail, according to KUT.