Austin council candidate, PAC spending tops $2M through 2026
Explore East Austin on the Impact Mapstories, offers and moreBen Thompson
4 min read
Published October 28, 2026 at 1:11 p.m. CT
This year’s candidates for Austin City Council seats spent just over $965,000 combined in 2026 and had over half a million dollars still available for the final week of their campaigns.
Local political action committees, or PACs, favoring certain candidates and ballot measures also spent roughly $1.2 million so far this year, based on final financial reporting ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
The big picture
Candidates are vying for City Council seats in five geographic areas: District 1 in East Austin, District 3 covering some of South and East Austin, District 5 and District 8 in South Austin, and Central Austin’s District 9.
Austin voters are also weighing a slate of ballot propositions, including two bond items—the $260 million Proposition A and $35 million Proposition B for parks and library projects—and eight city charter amendments. Political spending has largely centered around the bond measures and Proposition I, a charter update backed by Save Austin Now PAC that’d require recurring city audits.
Finance reports due by Oct. 26 offered the last look into local campaign activity before Election Day, and showed council candidates and PACs had hundreds of thousands of dollars still available to use as of late October.
District 1
The six candidates running to succeed outgoing council member Natasha Harper-Madison drew more than $258,000 and spent over $223,000 this year. Together, they still had more than $58,000 on hand as of Oct. 24.
Attorney Amber K. Goodwin led all District 1 candidates in donations and spending this year, followed by organizer Misael Ramos.
Clinical consultant Steven Brown and entrepreneur Alexandria Anderson each raised and spent more than $30,000, while candidates Portia Riggins and Michael Nahas reported less than $2,000 in those categories throughout the year.
Riggins also led in remaining funds by the week ahead of the election, followed by Ramos and the rest of the field.
Goodwin is one of several candidates supported by PACs for the Austin Board of Realtors and Equity Action. Brown and Ramos are supported by the Austin United PAC, and Brown is also supported by Restore Leadership ATX.
District 3
The five-candidate field drew over $112,000 in total donations and more than $93,000 in spending this year, led by incumbent council member José Velásquez.
Velásquez reported a majority of financial activity in the District 3 race this year, followed by product manager Neha Shah. Candidates Eduardo “Lalito” Romero, Brock Skinner and Gavin Fernandez Jr. each reported lower activity in the hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Velásquez is supported by the ABoR and Equity Action PACs, while Austin United supports Shah and opposes the incumbent. Velásquez is also supported by the new Better Austin PAC, which was largely funded this fall by relatives of Rajan Moonesinghe, who was shot and killed by Austin Police officers at his home in 2022.
District 5
The South Austin race generated the most spending activity of any City Council district this year. Candidates raised almost $100,000, largely led by incumbent council member Ryan Alter and challenger David Weinberg.
Alter entered 2026 with more than $115,000 on hand, while Weinberg started the year backed by $270,000 largely from a personal loan. Since January, the two candidates’ fundraising far exceeded their competition.
Electrician Liz Brink raised and spent just under $1,400 in 2026, while candidate Farrah Abraham didn’t submit any required finance reports this year.
The two leaders roughly matched each other’s cash on hand totals ahead of Election Day, with each still maintaining around $100,000 as of Oct. 24.
Alter is supported by the ABoR and Better Austin committees, and opposed by the Zo Must Go PAC and Austin United, which is supporting Weinberg.
District 8
The race narrowed to just two candidates this summer following council member Paige Ellis’ unsuccessful bid to seek a third term. Emergency medical services official Selena Xie out-raised and outspent her opponent, construction business owner Jeffery Bowen, by tens of thousands of dollars.
Xie reported a majority of the District 8 contest’s donations and spending. Both candidates had also bolstered their campaigns with personal loans of $25,000.
Xie also held a large advantage in available funds as of late October, with several times Bowen’s remaining total.
The ABoR and Equity Action PACs support Xie, while Austin United and Restore Leadership have backed Bowen.
District 9
The five-person race between incumbent council member Zo Qadri and four challengers ended up reporting the second-most spending across Austin’s 2026 contests.
Educator Rich Heyman drew the highest donation total in the race, followed by Qadri and engineer Katie Kam. However, Qadri had entered 2026 with a significant cash on hand advantage and went on to heavily outspend all of his opponents.
Candidate Dave Thadani reported both raising and spending about $1,000 this year, while candidate Kai Huang didn’t file any finance reports in 2026.
Qadri and Heyman led the District 9 field in remaining funds with similar totals by late October.
ABoR, Equity Action and Better Austin are supporting Qadri, while Zo Must Go and Austin United—which is supporting Heyman and Kam—oppose the incumbent.
What else?
Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent by PACs for and against candidates and ballot items this year, led by support for Proposition I.
Save Austin Now’s campaign for its audit proposal raised nearly $650,000 and spent almost $625,000 through 2026. The PAC had about $5,000 still remaining in the week before the election.
Proposition I is also supported by Restore Leadership ATX. Those opposed include the Austinites for Equity and Don’t DOGE Our Austin committees, which was largely funded through donations by the former committee and the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees union’s local and federal arms.
The new Parks, Pools, Trails & Books PAC formed this summer and spent nearly $90,000 supporting both bond propositions, with about $10,000 still on hand as of late October. Equity Action also supports Propositions A and B, and favors Propositions G and H while opposing Proposition E.
