Kirk watson political views

For three decades, Kirk Watson has been immersed in public policy, spanning local and state government in Texas. He served in the Texas Senate for over 13 years, leading on a wide range of issues and serving as a member and vice-chair of multiple standing and special committees and the Sunset Advisory Commission. His peers elected him President Pro Tempore of the Senate in 2019.

Watson was appointed in 1991 by Gov. Ann Richards as Chair of the Texas Air Control Board, the agency charged with addressing air quality issues. He was Vice-Chair of the committee that oversaw creation of the agency now known as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

He was first elected Austin mayor in 1997, where he won praise for bringing different political sides together around transformative environmental and economic development initiatives. In 2012, serving in the Texas Senate, he led the effort to build a new medical school at The University of Texas at Austin. Learn more about Mayor Watson.

Term of Office

Jan. 6, 2023 through Jan. 6, 2029

Kirk Watson is the Mayor of Austin in Texas. Watson assumed office on January 6, 2023. Watson's current term ends on January 6, 2029.

Watson ran for re-election for Mayor of Austin in Texas. Watson won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Watson was elected mayor on December 13, 2022, defeating Celia Israel in a runoff 50.4%-49.6%. He was previously elected mayor in 1997 and left office in 2001 to run unsuccessfully for Texas attorney general. Baylor Magazine reported that during his first tenure as mayor, Watson "led efforts to revitalize downtown Austin, secure the city's long-term water supply, proactively improve air quality in Central Texas, and build a bypass to Interstate 35 through Austin."^[1]

Watson was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1958. He was raised near Fort Worth, Texas, and received a bachelor's degree in political science from Baylor University in 1980 and a J.D. from Baylor Law School in 1981.^[1][2] After law school, Watson clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.^[1] Watson co-founde

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