AUSTIN (KXAN) — There are five people running for Austin City Council District 4, including Jose ‘Chito’ Vela, the incumbent. The candidates below are listed in the order that they will appear on your ballot.
The city of Austin hosted candidate panels, including for District 4. You can re-watch that panel here.
Louis Herrin
Herrin filed on Aug. 18, the day of the deadline, to run for the seat. He lists his top priorities as public safety and “homeless camping” on his campaign website.
“We are at a crossroads in Austin, and it is time to embrace common sense to secure a brighter and safer future for all Austinites. We must act now in this election as Austin is headed down a dangerous path where violence and destruction of our beautiful city is on the rise. Your grassroots support makes all the difference in the world as we take on the status quo of the current city council members,” his website reads.
You can find his platforms here.
Monica Guzmán
Guzmán works with Go Austin! Vamos Austin (GAVA). She is a regular at Austin City Council meetings and speaks frequently on affordability and gentrification.
“Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can build a better city for all of us,” her website says.
Guzmán’s website lists some of her priorities as neighborhood stability, preparing for disasters and being more climate resilient and investing in “critical community” needs like public health, park programming and early childhood programs.
You can read more about her here.
Eduardo “Lalito” Romero
Romero also filed at deadline — Aug. 18. He lists his occupation as “university staff” on campaign documents but does not appear to have a campaign website yet.
A post from the Williamson County Democratic Party shows Romero has run for office previously. He did not provide responses on his stances to the party.
José “Chito” Vela
Austin City Council Member José “Chito” Vela is the incumbent running to remain in his seat. Vela’s campaign website lists several priorities for the council member’s campaign including housing, environment, public safety and transportation.
“I support Austin’s criminal justice reform efforts, such as the decriminalization of marijuana, initiatives to improve police accountability, and the addition of mental health as an option when calling 911. Effective and accountable public safety is a priority,” his website reads.
In a special election in 2022, Vela ran against seven candidates to fill now-Congressman Greg Casar’s vacated seat. He claimed nearly 60% of the vote in that race, KXAN previously reported.
Before his run for council, Vela was an immigration and criminal defense attorney.
Jim Rabuck
Rabuck was also a last-minute filer. A campaign website for Rabuck doesn’t appear to be available yet.
He lists his occupation on application documents as “federal employee (DOD).” In an email response, Rabuck said he’s an Army veteran and currently works “for the Pentagon helping small businesses win contracts with the Department of Defense.”
Rabuck told us his priorities include: affordability, supporting first responders and police, combating rising taxes and “increasing wages for workers through partnerships with the growing tech economy in Austin.”
This November, there are five city council seats up for grabs: Districts 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10.
Election Day is Nov. 5.
