City & town

Austin City Council Member

District 5

Vote for: 1
Term: 4 years
Candidates: 4
Election: Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: An Austin City Council member represents one of ten districts on the council, which passes city ordinances and adopts the city budget and tax rate.

Candidates Compare by issue

Liz Brink

No party listed

Union electrician

The gist

Supports Proposition I and a city spending audit.
Supports shifting from housing-first to treatment-first homelessness policy.
Supports enforcing the camping ban.
Opposes developer fee-in-lieu options instead of affordable units.

More about Liz

View sources (1)

Supports Proposition I and a city spending audit.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“I support Prop I & I would want an in-depth audit of all city spending before asking the taxpayers for more money”
Supports shifting from housing-first to treatment-first homelessness policy.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“We should move away from the housing-first policy and move more towards a treatment-first policy.”
Supports enforcing the camping ban.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“We need to enforce the camping ban.”
Opposes developer fee-in-lieu options instead of affordable units.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“The city has given developers monetary fee-in-lieu loopholes to not build affordable housing units.”

David Weinberg

No party listed

Full-time candidate

The gist

Proposes a city spending audit before any tax increase.
Supports distributing homeless services across council districts.
Pledges constituent service and listening to residents.

More about David

View sources (1)

Proposes a city spending audit before any tax increase.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“We need a real audit of city spending and find ways to do more with less.”
Supports distributing homeless services across council districts.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“Services need to be distributed across the city.”
Pledges constituent service and listening to residents.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“I will prioritize listening to residents, providing excellent constituent service”

Ryan Alter

No party listed

Austin City Council member (District 5)

The gist

Supports the council's efficiency audit to limit tax requests.
Supports expanding homelessness prevention.
Supports the mental health crisis response model.

More about Ryan

View sources (1)

Supports the council's efficiency audit to limit tax requests.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“That’s why we initiated an efficiency audit, so we don’t have to keep asking you for more.”
Supports expanding homelessness prevention.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“Preventing homelessness is the cheapest and most effective tool we have, and I believe we should be using it more.”
Supports the mental health crisis response model.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“like the mental health response model I’ve championed the past four years”

Farrah Abraham

No party listed

Head of development, self-employed business owner and UT-certified paralegal

The gist

Pledges stabilizing emergency response times and supporting first responders.
Proposes auditing city spending to cut administrative costs.
Supports combining shelter with mental health and addiction care.

More about Farrah

View sources (1)

Pledges stabilizing emergency response times and supporting first responders.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“My top priority is keeping our neighborhoods safe by stabilizing emergency response times, supporting local first responders”
Proposes auditing city spending to cut administrative costs.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“My strategy focuses on auditing city spending to cut administrative bloat”
Supports combining shelter with mental health and addiction care.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 5
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“Combining shelter with real mental health care and addiction recovery offers unhoused residents a dignified path back to stability”

Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 5 issues covered in this race.