District 9

Supports criminal justice reforms that reduce incarceration for low-level offenses, expand diversion and reentry programs, and increase law enforcement accountability, while deploying data-driven strategies to improve 911 emergency response times citywide. Treats gun violence as an urgent public safety and health crisis, collaborating with organizations like Texas Gun Sense on evidence-based firearm tragedy prevention.

Sources: Zo for Austin Platform and Austin Monitor Council Coverage

Opposes aggressive law enforcement crackdowns on peaceful assembly and militarized state police interventions, drawing on his personal experience being assaulted by state troopers and arrested during 2024 campus protests, with all charges subsequently dismissed. Advocates for civil liberties, de-escalation, addressing root socio-economic drivers of crime, and protecting First Amendment rights over reactive carceral enforcement.

Sources: Austin Free Press

Integrates Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and road engineering to reduce traffic injuries and lessen enforcement burdens on police, while emphasizing coordinated collaboration between APD, Fire, EMS, mental health providers, and the Homeless Strategy Office.

Source: Katie Kam Campaign Platform

Nothing conclusively could be identified based on available public platform information.

Criminal Justice & Public Safety: Pushes for a proactive police presence paired with focused lighting in heavy foot-traffic areas and complete pedestrian infrastructure to protect personal safety and ensure a walkable urban core in West Campus and downtown.

Source: Dave for Austin Platform

Rejects rigid “YIMBY vs. NIMBY” labels to advocate for increasing housing supply while protecting existing neighborhoods from displacement and unmanaged upzoning. Draws on tenant-rights legislative experience to balance growth with community input, opposing corporate developer subsidies like the Dog’s Head Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) that siphon public funds without guaranteeing deep affordability.

Sources: Zo for Austin Platform, Austin Monitor Occupancy Report, Austin Monitor D9 Candidate Interview and Austin Monitor Windowless Housing Report

Opposes blanket deregulation and the HOME initiative, authoring research warning that citywide upzoning accelerates land speculation and displaces lower-income residents and communities of color in vulnerable areas. Prioritizes “true affordable housing,” robust tenant protections, and community land trusts over market-rate developer incentives, while opposing corporate developer subsidies like the Dog’s Head TIRZ.

Sources: Rich for Austin Platform, City of Austin Records

Advocates returning to proactive neighborhood planning to maintain predictable zoning, lowering development review fees that burden local homeowners, and exploring the sale or adaptive reuse of downtown convention center land to fund affordable housing.

Source: Katie Kam Campaign Platform

Nothing conclusively could be identified based on available public platform information.

Promotes “Abundant, Accessible, & Affordable Housing,” calling to amend the HOME Initiative so affordable units are reserved for families and students rather than corporate developers. Pushes to expand the University Neighborhood Overlay (UNO) to increase SMART housing in West Campus, restricts predatory pre-leasing marketing tactics, and backs “Right to Return and Stay” programs.

Sources: Dave for Austin Platform, The Daily Texan

Backs a coordinated, multi-layered homelessness continuum of care combining emergency crisis facilities (ARCH), low-barrier transitional shelter with workforce training (Esperanza Community), and long-term permanent supportive housing (Community First! Village). Combats urban health hazards by defending community recreation assets like Garrison Park Pool and fighting fossil-fuel peaker plants that worsen childhood asthma and respiratory illness in frontline communities.

Sources: Zo for Austin Platform, Zo for Austin Issues, and Austin Monitor City Council Archive.

Analyzes public health through a spatial and racial equity lens, prioritizing food security, mental health resources, and living wages for healthcare support workers while shielding neighborhoods from industrial pollution.

Sources: Rich for Austin Platform

Prioritizes Vision Zero roadway design and speed-reduction infrastructure as vital public health imperatives to prevent traffic fatalities, while coordinating with mental health crisis teams and protecting urban tree canopies to safeguard clean air and urban cooling.

Source: Katie Kam Campaign Platform

Nothing conclusively could be identified based on available public platform information.

Targets substandard living conditions by requiring multifamily complexes to post 3-1-1 reporting notices in common areas so tenants can report mold, sewage, and safety violations without fear. Combats homelessness through permanent supportive housing and voucher expansions, while creating accessible urban third spaces and parks to improve community well-being.

Sources: Dave for Austin Platform, The Daily Texan

Strongly opposes closing neighborhood public schools in Austin, viewing campuses as essential community anchors, while fighting state voucher programs that divert funding away from public education. Leverages his perspective as an Austin ISD parent to advocate for municipal-district collaboration to address state recapture burdens and maintain well-resourced youth parks and recreational infrastructure.

Sources: Zo for Austin Platform and Austin Monitor Windowless Housing Report

Leverages 18 years as an urban geography educator to defend campus free speech, while advocating for well-resourced public schools, opposition to private school vouchers, and safe student transit routes.

Sources: Rich for Austin Platform and Austin Free Press

Urges stronger municipal collaboration with Austin ISD to explore interim community uses and pathways to reopen closed neighborhood schools, drawing on her background as an AISD educator to prioritize safe, connected walking and cycling routes for youth.

Source: Katie Kam Campaign Platform

Nothing conclusively could be identified based on available public platform information.

Focuses on student representation as a current UT undergraduate, pushing to keep young residents and college students from being priced out or overlooked by City Hall. Prioritizes affordable student housing, expands transit and bikeshare networks to campus, and advocates for lower living costs across West Campus.

Sources: Dave for Austin Platform, The Daily Texan

Focuses on scaling up green infrastructure, permeable surfaces, and transit-oriented density to reduce vehicle emissions and combat urban heat island effects across Central Austin. Pledged to repeal the city’s natural gas peaker plant purchase to maintain net-zero 2035 goals, while co-authoring initial municipal funding for the I-35 “Cap and Stitch” program to reconnect severed neighborhoods and mitigate highway pollution.

Sources: The Austin Bulldog and Austin Free Press.

Connects environmental resilience with spatial and labor justice as an urban geographer, arguing that environmental degradation in Austin is directly tied to developer-driven land-use policies. Criticizes corporate tax incentive packages that attract resource-heavy industries, advocating instead for sustainable, transit-oriented planning that protects working-class neighborhoods from flooding and climate displacement.

Sources: The Austin Bulldog and Austin Free Press

Advocates for restoring Austin’s national leadership in municipal green building standards, treating stormwater management as an asset to create public parks, and aggressively expanding transit electrification. Opposes the natural gas peaker plant vote, rejects non-disclosure agreements in major land deals, and demands strict watershed protections across Central Texas waterways.

Sources: The Austin Bulldog and Austin Free Press.

Nothing conclusively could be identified based on available public platform information.

Centers climate policy on reducing the urban heat island effect, arguing that unmanaged asphalt expansion and rapid development drive up localized temperatures. Proposes expanding green spaces, upgrading urban drainage infrastructure, expanding CapMetro bikeshare access, and enforcing housing safety standards to protect student renters during climate extremes.

Sources: The Austin Bulldog and Austin Free Press.

Supports expanding low-barrier transitional shelter models that integrate on-site vocational training and job placement services to move unhoused and displaced residents into living-wage careers. Strongly opposes corporate subsidies and tax abatements for major developers, insisting that public economic agreements enforce local hiring, wage protections, and demonstrable community benefits.

Sources: Zo for Austin Platform and Austin Monitor Press Archive

Draws on union organizing with TSEU and UAW to champion living wages, worker cooperatives, and community wealth building, while strictly opposing the privatization of municipal jobs and public assets.

Sources: Rich for Austin Platform

Proposes redirecting Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funds away from the multi-billion-dollar convention center expansion to fund cultural ambassador jobs for local musicians and artists, while eliminating costly permitting red tape for local independent contractors and small business owners.

Source: Katie Kam Campaign Platform

Nothing conclusively could be identified based on available public platform information.

Draws on membership in the Texas State Employees Union (TSEU) to advocate for student workers, campus staff, and working-class families. Opposes municipal budget cuts to essential public services while advocating for living wages and protections for independent workers.

Sources: Dave for Austin Platform

Champions Austin’s 10-1 single-member district system, pledging an open-door policy at City Hall with walk-in access without mandatory appointments, alongside recurring district town halls and neighborhood coffees. Rejects backroom lobbying and developer campaign contributions that shut out residents, drawing on his grassroots organizing background that successfully halted the over-commercialization of Zilker Park.

Sources: Zo for Austin Platform, Zo for Austin Issues, and Austin Monitor D9 Candidate Interview

Promotes participatory budgeting and direct community governance, treating neighborhood associations as collaborative partners rather than obstacles to city planning.

Sources: Rich for Austin Platform

Promotes a return to grassroots neighborhood planning where residents actively shape local growth rather than react to top-down citywide code rewrites, leveraging her experience gathering over 4,000 petition signatures to demand public votes on major civic projects.

Source: Katie Kam Campaign Platform

Nothing conclusively could be identified based on available public platform information.

Promotes bottom-up, youth-centered grassroots governance, maintaining an open-source public log tracking every step of his campaign to demystify city politics for first-time voters and students. Emphasizes collective organizing inspired by civil rights leader Ella Baker to amplify voices outside established political circles.

Sources: Dave for Austin Platform, The Daily Texan

Requires explicit community approval before the city greenlights multi-million-dollar projects, rejecting non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and closed-door executive session votes like the natural gas peaker plant approval. Calls for rigorous public accounting and audits on developer tax rebates and TIRZ mechanisms to ensure taxpayer revenues fund essential city services rather than private developer windfalls.

Sources: Zo for Austin Platform, Zo for Austin Issues, and Austin Monitor Housing Record

Pledges an unbought campaign that rejects developer and PAC money, refuses closed executive session votes, opposes corporate deals like Dog’s Head, and calls to repurpose the $5.6B convention center expansion into a local arts district.

Sources: Rich for Austin Platform

Enforces a “needs first before optional wants” budget philosophy prioritizing core infrastructure maintenance like sidewalks and drainage over speculative projects, while demanding re-evaluation of Project Connect’s $8.2B cost and reduced footprint in favor of cost-effective transit alternatives.

Source: Katie Kam Campaign Platform

Nothing conclusively could be identified based on available public platform information.

Proposes creating a public “Landlord Transparency Portal” that aggregates municipal databases into a 6-month to 10-year compliance “performance score” to expose repeat code violators. Calls for an operational overhaul of the municipal budget to eliminate wasteful spending while safeguarding vital community support programs.

Sources: Dave for Austin Platform, The Daily Texan