Austin United supports candidates who put residents first. This is the standard we look for, stated plainly, so voters and candidates alike know exactly where we stand.
Endorsements begin with shared commitments. The pledge below lays out what we ask of the candidates we support: fair taxation, open government, protected neighborhoods, clean water, real climate action, and an economy built for the people who live here. None of it is written to trap anyone. It is written to be clear. Candidates who share these commitments are invited to take the pledge, the first step toward consideration for our endorsement.
The commitment
Austin's tax dollars belong to Austin's people, not to the wealthiest corporations and developers in the country.
Our candidates support the fair and equal taxation the Texas Constitution requires, and will oppose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones and other developer subsidies. They opposed the Dog's Head Development Agreement and its billion-dollar-plus taxpayer kickbacks, and will not defend or support it in office.
Our candidates will not take campaign funds, during or after their race, from developers active in Austin, from large corporations, or from billionaires and their political action committees. The people they answer to should be the people they represent.
Economic development should answer to Austin residents, not to billionaires or outside interests. Our candidates will lead a new economic strategy that reflects the real and diverse needs of the people who call this city home.
The commitment
Austin's identity is its people, its music, its small businesses, and the neighborhoods that hold them.
Our candidates will work to reduce the $5.6 billion convention center project and redirect that money into a downtown cultural district and into music, arts, culture, and small businesses across the whole city, not just downtown. They will audit city contracts for savings and prioritize local sourcing wherever possible.
Every neighborhood has its own character, and the people who live there deserve a real voice in the decisions that shape it. Developers should not decide alone how a neighborhood grows. Our candidates will work to stabilize neighborhoods and protect them from rapid displacement and gentrification.
The commitment
Public business belongs in public, where residents can see it, question it, and hold it to account.
Our candidates will never vote in a secret meeting, and will never sign a nondisclosure agreement for city business. They will sponsor an ordinance barring city staff from signing them, post their calendars publicly, and notify neighborhood leaders before meeting developer lobbyists on major or controversial projects. They will restore evening hearings and real public comment so people who work during the day can be heard.
Austin's charter protects residents' rights to initiative, referendum, and recall. Those rights matter most when city hall is captured by special interests. Our candidates will oppose charter amendments that weaken direct democracy or shield the council from accountability, and will prioritize independent audits that keep government honest.
The commitment
The land, the river, and the air are held in trust for everyone. We treat them that way.
Parks belong to the people and should be managed by the Parks Department for public use, not commercialized. Our candidates support a moratorium on new private concessions, a full audit of large park contracts, a transparent model for park philanthropy, and rewilding that puts climate and nature ahead of concrete.
Lady Bird Lake, Barton Springs, and the Colorado River are Austin's lifeblood. Our candidates will restore lake development setbacks, oppose lakeside paving and commercialization, make conservation and reuse a priority for Austin Water, require disclosure from large water users, and oppose water, energy, sewer, and tax subsidies for data centers. They will work with neighboring counties to protect water and open space.
Austin should lead on climate action, justice, and resilience. Our candidates will require a climate, energy, and water impact analysis on major spending and large developments, oppose projects that worsen the urban heat island or flooding, require new development to manage its own rainfall, prioritize flood and wildfire mitigation, and refuse incentives for data centers.
The commitment
Transit dollars should move all of Austin, not a single corridor.
Transportation should serve every part of the city, not just downtown. Our candidates will push to rethink Project Connect and redirect investment toward micro-transit and a fast, frequent, and genuinely useful bus system that reaches the whole city.
Voters approved Project Connect to build one thing, and the city is delivering another. Our candidates recognize that the current plan falls far short of what voters authorized at the ballot box, and they will work to correct it, including acting to stop the collection of the current Project Connect tax until the city delivers what voters were promised.
The commitment
Budgets are moral documents. Ours should put people ahead of corporate interests.
Every worker deserves a living wage, real benefits, and strong safety standards. Our candidates support unions, and will work to expand union coverage to more Austinites.
Our candidates will put people, social services, public health including mental health, and public safety ahead of corporate interests, and focus budget dollars there. They will invest evenly across every council district instead of over-investing in some while neglecting others.
Our candidates will support public education, and will make sure the City of Austin protects neighborhood schools and school property, including school parks.
If these commitments are yours, take the pledge. Signing is the first step toward consideration for the Austin United PAC endorsement. Your responses come straight to us and stay confidential.
