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The American-Statesman surveyed the candidates in the upcoming Austin City Council District 3 race to get their positions on some of the key issues facing the city and their district.
Here are the candidates’ responses, some of which have been edited for length and clarity:
José Velásquez
Biography: Velásquez owns a communications and marketing consulting firm that focuses on nonprofit growth and reach. He received a degree in psychology from Huston-Tillotson University and has served on the board of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Latinitas and on the city of Austin Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Commission. He has been involved with Fiestas Patrias of Austin, Easter Seals of Central Texas Dia De Los Muertos Festival, Pachanga Fest of Austin and Chingona Fest Texas.
How can the City Council slow the increase in housing prices and make home ownership a greater possibility for more residents?
We need to legalize housing in Austin while combating displacement. And that will require a candidate that creates space for new Austin but has the lived experience and relationships in the community to ensure old Austin has a place at the table. We need to preserve and protect the existing affordable housing stock that we have and build more. One of the major hurdles is having projects sitting in limbo because of the permitting process. We need to staff up that department and ensure there is more incentive to get affordable housing projects approved quicker. We need to strengthen and invest more resources in Affordability Unlocked, one of our most creative and equitable tools to help combat displacement and affordability.
What is something you would change about the city’s policies on homelessness?
Ensure that those policies are better informed by people of color and those with lived experience. Hispanics represent 32.4% and African Americans represent 32% of Travis County’s unhoused neighbors. We need to ensure those voices are better represented. In my conversations with POC advocates of our unhoused neighbors, one of the biggest issues I’ve found is that people of color and those with lived experience are not included in drafting these policies.
How would you rate the quality of policing services Austinites are getting as the police department deals with hundreds of officer vacancies, and what can be done to improve those services?
Austin remains one of the top safest cities among the 30 major populous U.S. cities. My family has experienced a violent crime, so ensuring all Austin residents feel safe is an absolute top priority to me. I’m committed to doing the work needed to ensure we get there and that Austin remains one of the nation’s safest big cities.
At the same time, simply increasing the number of officers will not fix our public safety challenges overnight. The city must trust and invest in the community, not just on increasing stats. We need to put a focus on Undoing Racism training, heavy deescalation training, oversight and focusing on tactics that improve outcomes for the community. We need to ensure that APD is recruiting cadets from the areas that they patrol. We need to reimagine the job, re-evaluate their goals and the department in partnership with the City Council needs to build around that.
What would you consider priorities for Austin when it comes to traffic/transit (Project Connect, I-35 expansion, road safety, etc)?
We are far behind where we should be with public transit comparable to other cities our size. More transportation options makes for a more equitable Austin. A better transit system will help with affordability, congestion, equity and environmental issues. We need to better connect the city through transit so that citizens can be multimodal and have more options than just their cars.
What other priorities do you have? What sets you apart as a candidate?
Lived experience and a proven track record as an inclusive coalition builder that has worked to bridge the divide between new and old Austin. My focus is affordability and we have a bold and inclusive Affordable Austin plan that is built off of lived experience, ideas from our District 3 neighbors, and practical and equitable application. These are our first steps in making sure our city’s values mirror its policy.
That Plan includes:
- Free, full-day Pre-K for ALL – ensuring that our kids have a jumpstart on their education and giving new parents an early reprieve from the outrageous cost of childcare
- Holistic Approach to our Housing Crisis – a focus that is anti-gentrification and pro-housing, and built on the real-life experiences of lifelong and new residents alike.
- Increasing Access to High-Speed Broadband – removing the barriers to education, employment, and resources.
- Encouraging Remote Work- the time and treasure spent on transportation and in traffic is better spent closer to home and with families.
What is an issue that faces your district specifically and how would you address it?
Displacement. We need to get creative on how we work on displacement since it’s property taxes that are pushing people out. I currently work with a nonprofit that helps people pay their property taxes and stay in their homes. As it stands our current land code incentivizes displacement because it forces us to focus the majority of our new housing capacity inside Districts 1, 2 and 3. Equal zoning does not lead to equity and we need to work to expand all types of housing, especially multi-family housing types, across the city, not just along the eastern crescent. We need to provide more flexibility in the code to help homeowners stay in their homes.
Daniela Silva
Biography: Silva has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural leadership and development and a masters degree in international development, both from Texas A&M University. She has worked in the service industry and has policy-writing experience in Austin and Washington D.C. In college she interned in the state Senate and the National Farmers Union. She founded a group called Daughters of the Diaspora to organize service-oriented events and she serves on the Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Resource Advisory Commission.
How can the City Council slow the increase in housing prices and make home ownership a greater possibility for more residents?
I believe people of all backgrounds deserve access to good schools, green space, and other city amenities, and we should remove barriers preventing that vision. Specifically, I support eliminating single family zoning at the municipal level. The city should incentivize SMART housing to attract builders to create low-income housing, especially around transit corridors. Austin’s current Land Development Code must be changed to allow a VMU2 to offer a height bonus of 30 feet in exchange for greater community benefits, including affordability. As a City Council member, I will also work with the Housing Authority of the City of Austin to revitalize public housing assets, seek additional rental assistance vouchers, and advance innovative housing solutions, including legalizing more housing across the city. All that being said, it cannot go without being mentioned that many renters would choose to own their home if they had the opportunity. There must be a focus on increasing the percentage of ownership opportunities in new, denser developments and expanding existing right-to-stay and right-to-return programs. This is a matter of economic equity, especially in relation to communities of color who have been historically shut out from the opportunity to build generational wealth via property ownership.
What is something you would change about the city’s policies on homelessness?
As a city we need to change our culture and attitude to remove the stigma placed on the unhoused. I will work towards decriminalizing houselessness again and stop the sweeps. I plan to sponsor housing-first policies and promote investment in community benefits; not just investment in more public housing but investment in mental health services, EMS, mobile clinics, wrap-around services and community resiliency hubs. I will vote to partner with organizations like the Other Ones Foundation and Foundation Communities to expand our supply of deeply affordable and long-term supportive housing. Additionally, I will advocate for change in current policy so we can keep shelters open to all in extreme weather, particularly in extreme heat. Just as importantly, drug addiction is an illness and we need to treat it as such. Laws that punish the use or dependence of drugs are just as harmful as the drugs themselves. I plan to work to decriminalize drug usage, support harm reduction in our community, and expand addiction recovery resources.
How would you rate the quality of policing services Austinites are getting as the police department deals with hundreds of officer vacancies, and what can be done to improve those services?
We Austinites need to ask what we can be doing as a community to decrease the dependency on such a large law enforcement presence. I would like to see significant and unprecedented investment in education, health care and housing. I feel it is important that the officers who are patrolling our communities be able to afford to live in them so they’re interacting with their neighbors, not strangers. I would champion an investment in mental health services and social workers with the end goal being to divert non-emergency calls to other resources, like Integral Health and the Community Paramedic Program. This additional staff would aid in preventing or responding to mental health crises so officers don’t have to. I think it’s important to hold officers accountable for violence, harassment and abuse of power in order to maintain the integrity of the department and further promote the Reimagining Public Safety Initiative and a healthy workplace culture for all. I’ll support creating a hotline exclusively for unhoused resources/support to provide an option other than 911.
What would you consider priorities for Austin when it comes to traffic/transit (Project Connect, I-35 expansion, road safety, etc)?
The priorities I consider most important in Austin are improving public transit, decreasing car dependency, and maintaining roads and sidewalks. When it comes to public transit, Project Connect is the largest public transit venture that Austinites will be involved with. Ensuring that the years-long project is developed in a sustainable and equitable way will be my top priority for the transit system. Additionally, I will work to ensure that the $300 million anti-displacement funds are spent in a way that aligns with community input. Another huge concern for many Austinites is the redevelopment of I-35. Very few residents want an expansion of the highway and it is imperative that TxDOT take community needs into consideration. I have signed the ReThink 35 pledge to support a comprehensive study of community alternatives, such as rerouting non-local traffic around Austin and turning I-35 into a boulevard or burying I-35 and capping the highway so that it can be used for community amenities such as green space and safe bike paths. As we move towards a more dense, walkable and transit-friendly city, we can consider creative ideas that reduce car dependency, such as car-free streets and the equitable expansion of the COA e-bike program.
What other priorities do you have? What sets you apart as a candidate?
Other priorities I have include equitable access to health care and environmental justice. Austin needs robust affordable mental health and addiction recovery resources, especially for our unhoused community. It is also important to support a diversity of health care centers in order to provide a variety of paths to wellness. I would like to work with businesses and nonprofit organizations to explore creative solutions for neighborhoods that do not have a grocery store within walking distance. Walkability is the future of Austin, which will require more housing density throughout the urban core. I am the only candidate who recognizes the need for density as much the need for environmental protections and sustainable development. As we continue to grow as a city, we must do so in a way that is sustainable and equitable. Far too many District 3 residents face environmental injustice, with poor air quality having to do with car traffic and constant construction, living in heat islands that drive up utility costs and often makes using public transit unbearable, and homes that are not resilient to climate-related weather crises.
What is an issue that faces your district specifically and how would you address it?
An issue that faces District 3 specifically is that of our unhoused community. After the passage of Prop B, many members of this community moved into the district and tensions have been growing over the past couple of years. I will aim to address this issue by working with council to adopt a “Housing First” policy to connect people with stable, permanent housing, which then removes barriers to connect them with more resources and wrap-around services. With dozens of existing organizations that serve the unhoused community, I would work to remove silos by creating a centralized database and hotline exclusively for resources for the unhoused. Additionally, I would like to work with Resource Recovery and organizations that work with the unhoused community to create a paid environmental beautification program to incentivize our unhoused neighbors to safely collect trash and recycling found on the ground and in waterways. When elected, I will also advocate for the funding of affordable mental health and addiction recovery resources, such as The Sobering Center. Establishing resource centers throughout central Austin could also be a great way to mitigate the impact of homelessness and alleviate some of the undue burden many libraries currently feel.
José Noé Elías
Biography: Elías has a bachelor’s degree in history and a masters in education. He teaches second grade at Linder Elementary in the Austin school district. He also serves on the Austin Community Development Commission and the Project Connect Community Advisory Committee.
How can the city council slow the increase in housing prices and make home ownership a greater possibility for more residents?
We need to address the affordability problem by preserving our supply of affordable housing and building new affordable homes at deeply affordable levels. Data from HousingWorks shows that the supply of market rate housing is adequate, but we are way behind in building homes for families that make at or below 50% (of median family income). The only way to address this deficit is to build homes at that affordability level. We keep building market rate housing in hopes that we satisfy the demand, but that doesn’t do anything to help families who face having to pay more than half their income on rent or leave the city. Building more market rate housing will not help the working families of Austin because they can’t afford it.
What is something you would change about the city’s policies on homelessness?
The city’s policy on homelessness lacks a clear strategy that can be implemented and fully funded. We need to employ all resources throughout various departments to create a strategy and fully fund that strategy. This is a multi-faceted issue that requires the collaboration of public health and mental health service providers, Austin Resource Recovery and the Parks and Recreation Department to work together to address. In the instance of my neighborhood park, the parks department responded to our concerns about unhoused people living in the park by coordinating visits by these city departments, which has helped the issue, but the parks department lacks the strategy, the funding and the resources to deal with these issues city-wide alone.
How would you rate the quality of policing services Austinites are getting as the police department deals with hundreds of officer vacancies, and what can be done to improve those services?
I believe that we must look at the data to identify the types of 911 calls that are coming from our communities. There are many issues that are referred to law enforcement that could be better resolved by other departments or service providers. In many cases, the police do not prevent crimes or even solve crimes. We need to look beyond the scope of law enforcement to address issues including mental health, domestic violence, lack of housing and drug use that lead to interactions with law enforcement, yet law enforcement is not able to solve these problems. We need to coordinate city services and outside providers to create vibrant and resilient communities, which will be safe communities.
What would you consider priorities for Austin when it comes to traffic/transit (Project Connect, I-35 expansion, road safety, etc)?
A major priority for Austin regarding transportation is pedestrian safety. Investing in the improvement of roadways, pedestrian pathways, sidewalks, traffic signals and pedestrian crosswalks are key to decreasing pedestrian deaths and injuries. Many of our communities do not have safe places to walk, nor cross major streets, which increases the risk for an accident and discourages people from walking or biking. It is important for our environment and public safety that we get as many cars off the roads by encouraging walking for short trips and improving our public transportation system. Project Connect will come much later, but we must address issues with public transit now. We should make public transportation more accessible by building safe, sheltered bus stops, by increasing routes in areas that are most needed, and by making transit prices affordable to all.
What other priorities do you have? What sets you apart as a candidate?
What sets me apart as a candidate is that I am not running for City Council because I have political ambitions, nor because I am next in line to the District Three representative. I am running to represent District 3 in order to fight for our working families and to make sure that they are able to stay in the city that they make function. As a teacher in my community, I have a unique perspective because we see all the struggles facing our families and oftentimes must help them find resources and assistance. I also have the experience of serving on the Austin Community Development Commission and on the Project Connect Community Advisory Committee, where we address the most important issues facing our city. I have authored and co-authored recommendations to the city council addressing affordability, displacement, and equity in the city budget. I also have experience working with the parks department to get a basketball court for my community and redevelop the Montopolis Negro School as a museum and cultural institution.
What is an issue that faces your district specifically and how would you address it?
The biggest issue that we are going to face in District 3 is the rollout of Project Connect. We have the Orange Line coming to South Congress Avenue and the Blue Line coming to Riverside Drirve, along with the rapid buses. We will have to face the issue of displacement along the transit corridors and the increase in land values due to speculation. We will have to face the issue of real estate purchases and land acquisition through eminent domain. We will also have to face the issues that will come when construction begins. I will address this by demanding true community engagement in the planning and development phases, making sure that sufficient resources are provided to small businesses, renters and homeowners that are displaced through eminent domain and demanding that developers along the corridors build truly affordable housing.
Gavino Fernandez, Jr.
Biography: Fernandez, Jr. studied government and history at Austin Community College and Juarez-Lincoln University. He has worked as the chief of staff for Travis County Commissioner Marcos de Leon in Precinct 4 and as a coordinator Cristo Rey Catholic Church. He has worked with the Holly Power Plant Closure Committee, was the spokesperson for El Concilio de East Austin and was a union steward with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. He was the chairman for the local chapter of LULAC and he currently works as an elections judge for the Travis County District Clerk.
How can the City Council slow the increase in housing prices and make home ownership a greater possibility for more residents?
- Reduce permit fees, water connection fees, electrical connection fees
- An Austin Housing Corporation rent-to-own program
- Build homes for families at or below 30% of the median family income
- Pass a $350 million housing bond
- Increase 10% of affordable housing requirement per development to 25%
What is something you would change about the city’s policies on homelessness?
- Reduce time in placing them in housing
- Provide mental health services
- Hire unhoused people into city jobs, permit unhoused people to use restrooms and showers at local recreation centers
- Include the Tech Companies in addressing funding for unhoused programs
How would you rate the quality of policing services Austinites are getting as the police department deals with hundreds of officer vacancies, and what can be done to improve those services?
In East Austin, there seems to be no shortage of police response. So I would rate it at 95%. We are supposed to have 1,809 officers but are at 1,550, 250 positions short. Increase cadet training classes. We need to hire more officers to improve coverage city-wide.
What would you consider priorities for Austin when it comes to traffic/transit (Project Connect, I-35 expansion, road safety, etc)?
- Reduce vehicle traffic by completion of the Project Connect infrastructure
- Increase light synchronizations through major roads
- Increase electric car conversion of all city vehicles.
- Reduce neighborhood speed limits to 25 miles
- Provide transportation tools on the road for biking, and walking infrastructure.
- Speed bumps
- We need to revisit plans for I-35. No park is going to erase the ongoing racism and access to the wealth of Austin.
What other priorities do you have? What sets you apart as a candidate?
While on the campaign trail voters have told me they trust me in serving because of my number of years of community engagement. If elected, I will open two district offices, one in East Austin and one in West Austin, to bring government to the people of District 3. I will govern with a lens of diversity, equity and inclusion. My priorities include funding for the unhoused wrap-around programs and housing, passage of a $350 million bond to increase affordable housing stock, and constructing homes for familie at or below 30% of the median family income.
I want to promote small business development and opportunities for small businesses in District 3. I believe in community policing to ensure our neighborhoods are safe to live in and raise a family.
I want to support Austin Energy solar conversion in neighborhoods of color, reinstate the veterans office, and promoteAustin Energy plan to reach zero carbon emission by 2035. I want to end environmental racism by city of Austin policies, have every new home built with solar panels, water recapture and electric car chargers. I oppose the proposed electric base rate increase. I support the police cadet class and want the city to fill the vacant EMS/paramedic positions.
What is an issue that faces your district specifically and how would you address it?
- Inflation, increase of government fees for services, crime, traffic, low-income housing, gentrification, high property taxes
- I would prepare a city budget with a tax decrease
- Unattended parks in District 3, lack of bike infrastructure, bring city staff to community meetings to respond to constituents.
- Seek more collaboration from residents in District Three to address issues in a partnership environment with the government. Government cannot cure issues alone. It takes a collaborative approach.
Yvonne Weldon
Biography: Weldon recently earned a paralegal certificate from the University of Texas and she has a BBA in accounting. She was formerly a purchaser with the Texas Attorney General’s office.
How can the City Council slow the increase in housing prices and make home ownership a greater possibility for more residents?
We need to examine and eliminate and/or reduce certain building fees, permits, regulations, codes, and ordinances, especially those that give preference to certain builders and developers. Those ordinances that would promote increasing residential unit supply also need to be examined such as the increasing use of short-term rental commercial property in residential units while not infringing on homeowner and homestead property rights
What is something you would change about the city’s policies on homelessness?
We need to enforce the camping ban utilizing the resources of the DACC and end the receipt of HUD’s Housing First dollars that do not provide any incentive for folks experiencing homelessness to get the help and resources needed and available.
How would you rate the quality of policing services Austinites are getting as the police department deals with hundreds of officer vacancies, and what can be done to improve those services?
The Austin Police Department cannot reasonably serve and protect its constants with the critical staffing crisis levels. District 3 is one of the worst districts for major crime including homicides, aggravated assaults and robberies, etc. The shortage of police and specialty units as well as the 911 call center operation are exacerbating the crime and traffic accidents and deaths in Austin. We must prioritize efforts to ensure APD and the 911 call center is fully staffed and specialty units are restored. Constituents in District 3 and all over Austin should not be put on hold when their lives and property are on the line.
What would you consider priorities for Austin when it comes to traffic/transit (Project Connect, I-35 expansion, road safety, etc)?
Exposing Project Connect, expanding I-35, and road safety are critical all priorities the city must home in on to bring effective public transportation for Austin. Special interest groups may need to step aside and bring in industry experts to oversee, develop, and/or enhance the existing public transportation system.
What other priorities do you have? What sets you apart as a candidate?
- Restore fiscal integrity, accountability and transparency of city spending and core operations.
- Efforts should be directed at discouraging drug use and no tolerance programs where appropriate. Efforts need to be employed to ensure that mental health services are implemented, prioritized, and embedded in all aspects and components in city services to ensure the well-being and safety of the employees and people of Austin.
- Operations and oversight at both Austin Energy/Water must be improved and prioritized to ensure Austin maintains consistent water and electricity without neglectful failures that could have been avoided due to unnecessary water boil mandates and power outages at the control of Austin Energy.
What is an issue that faces your district specifically and how would you address it?
Homelessness, crime and affordability are all critical issues in District 3 that dovetail and intertwine and must be prioritized, as mentioned earlier, over all non-essential city services and funding.
Esala Wueschner
Wueschner has an associate’s degree in engineering and served in the Air Force. He has worked jobs in landscaping, videography, photography, sales and administration. He joined the Civil Air Patrol at age 13, conducting his first solo in a Cessna 172 at the age of 18, and became the airman of the year in his squadron at Laughlin Air Force Base.
How can the city council slow the increase in housing prices and make home ownership a greater possibility for more residents?
The current City Council is charging home builders $41,000 of permit fees per home, including a $6,000 fee to park the construction vehicles in order to build the houses. I will cut most of these permit fees to decrease the housing cost. Additionally, I will increase access to nice parks, day cares, and more avenues for the communities to flourish in low income areas. I will give tax incentives for businesses to open up in these areas to make the communities look nicer. This will incentivize builders to build more affordable homes. I will try to break up monopolies that are buying homes and selling at a rate that are causing these home prices to increase at an uncontrollable rate.
What is something you would change about the city’s policy around homelessness?
The City Council members are incentivising the homeless people to do more drugs so they are dependent upon government assistance. They are creating organizations to combat the homeless and giving taxpayer money to their friends to fix the homelessness crisis they caused. I will make sure people hold each other accountable for their actions in order for them to better themselves like many others that have gotten off of drugs using their own free will.
How would you rate the quality of policing services Austinites are getting as the police department deals with hundreds of officer vacancies, and what can be done to improve those services?
The police force has always been underfunded due to the growth of the city. The police force never got enough training to deal with situations that put their life and their suspects life in danger. I will fight to fund the police and the firefighters so they can work together to make the city a safer place.
What would you consider priorities for Austin when it comes to traffic/transit (Project Connect, I-35 expansion, road safety, etc)?
First of all, we need to fix our roads that have existed for years before we can focus on newer projects. Certain roads have too many potholes, especially in District 3 which doesn’t get enough attention.
Secondly, I would create a train system that encompasses a 15-mile radius from the Capitol with a stopping point at the intercardinal directions from the center of the radius. This will make it easy to get to Round Rock, Barton Creek, Del Valle and Daffan for anyone who relies on the metro to get to their destination.
Thirdly, I would like to give a bid to all the civil engineers in Austin to come up with a road design to fix our I-35 traffic near downtown with the hopes of creating a design that will revolutionize Austin highway infrastructure.
What other priorities do you have? What sets you apart as a candidate?
City Council members have given themself a 40% pay raise while giving a much smaller pay raise to workers. I will make sure that City Council and city workers get the same percentage of pay raise by reducing the 40% pay raise to a lower amount that matches with inflation and other factors to make it fair for everyone.
What is an issue that faces your district specifically and how would you address it?
First, I will make it easier for the small businesses to grow so they will not go out of business due to high taxes and displacement of their local buyers that have been living in the area for many years due to low cost of living. I do not want the small businesses that have existed for years in South Congress to fear that they might have to close their stores down.
Second, District 3 is becoming a homeless camping ground. There are homeless people sleeping in front of businesses and the city has not tackled the root cause of it. Taxpayers are not responsible for helping people that do not want to help themselves. Overall, the mishandling has increased crime, drugs and dangerous road conditions. I will make the district safe again so you are able to walk these streets at night without fear of getting stabbed in your neighborhoods.
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