City & town

Austin City Council Member

District 9

Vote for: 1
Term: 4 years
Candidates: 5
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

Rich Heyman

No party listed

Educator (professor of urban studies)

The gist

Proposes investing in housing for families earning under $40,000.
Opposes tax breaks for wealthy companies.
Opposes secret votes and undisclosed lobbyist communications.

More about Rich

View sources (1)

Proposes investing in housing for families earning under $40,000.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 9
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“We especially need to invest in housing for families making less than $40,000 annually”
Opposes tax breaks for wealthy companies.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 9
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“I will fight to stop tax breaks for wealthy companies and sweetheart deals for billionaires that provide few public benefits.”
Opposes secret votes and undisclosed lobbyist communications.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 9
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“We need to end back-room deals, secret votes, and stealth communications with lobbyists.”

Katie Kam

No party listed

Civil engineer

The gist

Proposes reducing tax and fee burdens through audits.
Proposes canceling the South Austin navigation center.

More about Katie

View sources (1)

Proposes reducing tax and fee burdens through audits.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 9
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“We need to reduce tax and fee burdens.”
Proposes canceling the South Austin navigation center.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 9
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“Cancel South Austin navigation center; reevaluate approach.”

Zohaib "Zo" Qadri

No party listed

Austin City Council member (District 9)

The gist

Led an evaluation of city homelessness programs.
Supports internal reviews of spending, contracts and programs.

More about Zohaib

View sources (1)

Led an evaluation of city homelessness programs.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 9
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“I’ve pushed for better coordination and accountability and recently led an evaluation of our homelessness programs.”
Supports internal reviews of spending, contracts and programs.
Meet the candidates running for Austin City Council District 9
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“supporting internal reviews that ensure greater accountability for spending, contracts and programs”

Dave Thadani

No party listed

The gist

No documented position found.

More about Dave

Kai Huang

No party listed

The gist

No documented position found.

More about Kai

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.