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It’s the third day of early voting and so far in Travis County the number of early ballots cast is higher than past midterm years. We’ll talk about the numbers we’re seeing so far.
Southwest Austin will have a new city council representative for the first time since 2019. We’ll tell you about the candidates vying for the open seat in District 8.
Plus, in addition to local races we’re keeping tabs on, there are plenty others with national implications that we’re watching. That includes U.S. House Districts 21 and 37.
It’s shaping up to be a massive weekend of sports in Austin, capped off by the Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. We’re going to talk about the names and cars you should be watching closely.
The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:08] It is the third day of early voting, and so far here in Travis County, the number of early ballots cast is higher than past midterm years. We’re gonna talk about the numbers we’re seeing so far. In Southwest Austin, we’ll have a new city council representative for the first time since 2019. We’re going to tell you about the candidates vying for that open seat. Plus, in addition to the local races that we’re keeping tabs on, there are plenty others with national implications that we are watching. That includes U.S. House Districts 21 and 37, More about those seats and candidates coming up on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:40] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:45] It’s shaping up to be a massive weekend of sports in Austin, capped off by the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix out at Circuit of the Americas. We’re gonna talk about the names and the cars that you should be watching closely. That’s up next on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, this is Austin Signal. I’m your host, Jerry Keconnell. It is Wednesday, October 21st. Thank you for tuning in and making us part of your day. Early voting numbers are breaking records this week here in our area and across the state. Here with a quick update is KUT’s Travis County reporter, Katie McAfee. Katie, welcome to the show.
Katy McAfee [00:01:28] Thanks, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:01:29] Okay, so exactly what kind of numbers are we looking at with early voting turnout in Travis County so far?
Katy McAfee [00:01:35] Yeah, so two days in, 9.59% of registered voters in Travis County have cast a ballot. That is almost 91,000 people in Travis county so far. So we’re pretty much in line with voter turnout in 2018, but we’re still way ahead of voter turnout in the 2022 midterm. So, so far it’s looking really strong.
Jerry Quijano [00:01:54] Yeah, looking really strong compared to those last couple of midterm go-arounds. What about looking a little bit further back? Are the numbers kind of astronomically higher compared to what we’re seeing this year?
Katy McAfee [00:02:02] I would say astronomically higher, for sure. People are really motivated to turn out for this election. We’ve got a lot of hot races on the ballot, the U.S. Senate race, of course, but also I think Travis County voters are turning out locally for some local races. We’ve five city council seats up for grabs and a bunch of propositions that people are turning out for too.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:22] Speaking of the Travis County elections, the clerk that runs the elections, were they prepared for this kind of massive turnout?
Katy McAfee [00:02:29] And they were. They were gaging turnout based on the primary election, which also saw historic turnout for the same reasons. There were local races on the ballot, and also people were turning out for that U.S. Senate race. They are preparing, in the words of Travis County Clerk Diana Lamone Mercado, to have the most accessible election in our community’s history. So they kind of prepared for this by increasing voter sites, and they’re increasing hours. So there’s 45 early voting locations available this election. That’s up from 38 last year, and there’s 201 places where you can cast a ballot on election day. Another change this year is that the polls are open from 7 a.m. To 7 p.m., every day, even over the weekend. During the primary election and previous elections over the week, and ours were like from noon to six. So that should help folks out who have crazy schedules. And then on the last two days of early voting, seven polling sites are gonna be open until 10 o’clock at night.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:27] Over at VoteTravis.gov, there is a map with estimated wait times. We’ve been seeing quite a few locations here in Austin with longer wait times, have there been any major issues at polling places that we have heard of so far?
Katy McAfee [00:03:38] Nothing major. You know, wait times, I’m looking at the map live right now. There are a few places with over a 50 minute wait, some have around a 30 minute wait, but there are plenty of places centrally located that have less than a 20 minute wait. So if folks just go out of their way to go somewhere that they don’t usually go to, there’s countywide voting in Travis County. So you don’t have to go to your usual spot. Other major issues so far, it’s been pretty quiet. Travis County did let reporters know that they had a few paper jams on the first day of early voting when people were submitting their ballots. I think elections just get people a little bit nervous if something like that happens. But funny enough, the county actually held a tour of the county clerk’s office last week for reporters to see what goes behind the scenes when they’re putting on an election. The things they told us is that they have a slogan, it’s not a conspiracy, it’s a paper jam. This is something that happens and people might freak out a little bit. Elections can make us high strung. You wanna see your ballot go in there and make sure that it gets counted, but this has happened in the past. It happened on Monday, but other than that so far, things have been smooth sailing.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:47] Alright, that is KUT’s Travis County reporter Katie McAfee. Katie, do you mind sticking around for a little bit?
Katy McAfee [00:04:52] I will stick around.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:52] All right, very cool. Austin City Council District 8 is getting new representation for the first time in eight years. Councilmember Paige Ellis wanted to seek a third term, but her petition ultimately was rejected. That means the race is down to two candidates who are familiar faces around City Hall. KUT’s Luz Moreno Lozano tells us more.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:05:19] The race for the District 8 seat is between Salina Shia, who led the Austin EMS Association, and Jeffrey Bowen, who previously ran for Austin Mayor. The district includes parts of West and Southwest Austin. It’s home to more than 99,000 people and hundreds of acres of green space including Zilker Park, the Barton Creek Green Belt, and the Violet Crown Trail. Its unique location makes it prone to natural disasters. Both candidates field as one of the top issues facing the district. Shia and Bowen shared their views on that and other matters during a recent candidate forum at KUT. On how the city can save money during a challenging budget cycle, Shia says she has a unique perspective as a commander for Austin.
Salina Shia [00:06:00] Travis County EMS. There are a lot of programs that I see that I would think we would need to cut before we ask to tax our residents even more. And I also do believe that we need to do some form of auditing. My preference is that we expand our auditor’s office.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:06:18] Shia does not support Proposition I. That’s a proposal that would require the city to perform an independent audit every five years. Shia says she would support regular internal audits. Bowen says affordability and providing essential city services is a balancing act, and he believes the best way to strike that balance is by taking a deeper dive into the city’s spending and finding ways to cut back. He says before the city asks people to raise their property taxes, an audit needs to be done. That is why he is supportive of Prop I.
Jeffrey Bowen [00:06:47] I find that they don’t, nobody wants to go in and start looking at what issues need to be actually looked at. Where’s the performance on these? What’s working, what’s not working?
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:06:56] While property taxes are a concern for many Austin families, Shia says she does support the city’s $295 million bond package for parks and libraries. If approved, it would cost the average homeowner about $40 more on their annual tax bill.
Salina Shia [00:07:10] When I talk to park staff, they tell me how critical it is. A lot of our pools are in real bad disrepair, leaking water, and so this actually will help go to fix at least four of our swimming pools in Austin. There also are a lot of infrastructure projects in District 8, including at Zilker Park, including our Metropolitan Circle C park as well. She says the bond.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:07:33] But also fund sidewalks and improvements to the Hampton Branch Library and District 8, both of which are needed. Bowen says he would not support the bond package, citing the city’s already large debt.
Jeffrey Bowen [00:07:45] I realize we have parks. We’re setting on a bunch of parkland we haven’t even developed. We’ve got $700 million in deferred maintenance. So I really wanna see a complete overhaul of the parks issue in that case. I don’t wanna reward for issues that we seem to get out of hand.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:08:02] Both candidates say there is still work to do on addressing housing affordability.
Salina Shia [00:08:07] Has a plan for that. We know that if you are making $20, $25 an hour there’s no way that the market is going to produce housing that is gonna be affordable enough and so that’s why we do have to get government involved for deeply affordable housing and to me that looks like using land that the city does own and also really leveraging our bond dollars.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:08:27] Wants to focus on creating more affordable home ownership opportunities in the district. While rents have been trending down, buying a house as a young family can be challenging. Bowen says more apartments have been built in the District moving the needle in the right direction on affordable housing. He says it’s going to take time to get there, especially with the district being in an environmentally sensitive area. For example, the city has land near the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center that can’t be built on to protect water quality.
Jeffrey Bowen [00:08:55] It’s not as easy to build because we just have the limits with all of the green areas and land is pretty expensive because again, we’ve got all that land that’s been taken up.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:09:07] Candidates also weighed in on improving the city’s homelessness response. They agree the city needs to do more to help keep people off the streets, but each candidate has their own thoughts on how to go about it. SHEO wants additional support for people who are unhoused and living with mental health issues, health challenges or drug addiction.
Salina Shia [00:09:22] We don’t have good options for people when they are suffering something like that. It’s either jail or hospital and in both cases you get kicked out pretty fast. So I’d love to see a third option that allows EMS police officers to take people to really make sure that they’re back on their medications. A lot of times it’s just because they haven’t slept in a few days.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:09:41] Bowen feels the focus should be on preventing homelessness and eviction. He says the city’s current system tries to connect people with resources, but some can fall through the cracks.
Jeffrey Bowen [00:09:50] I think we’re spending a lot of time touching people, the city’s words, and yet there’s no commitment by those people. We need to take and work with those that are on the verge, that can be touched and be done in just a few touches and get them off the street before they ever get there.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:10:05] Early voting is underway and last through October 30th. Election day is November 3rd. I’m Luz Moreno-Luzano in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:20] That’s right, as Luz just said, early voting is underway, and as a result, we’re keeping tabs on the many local races here in our area, as well as the national seats that are up for grabs, including U.S. House races in the Austin area. Here to talk with us about districts 37 and 21, we’ve got KUT’s Olivia Aldridge and Katie McPhee back with us. Hello!
Olivia Aldridge [00:10:40] Hi,.
Olivia Aldridge [00:10:40] Jerry
Jerry Quijano [00:10:41] So Olivia, I want to start with you in district 21. Does that district have an incumbent?
Olivia Aldridge [00:10:46] Yes, it’s Chip Roy. Chip Roy opted to run for attorney general this cycle. He ultimately lost to Mays Middleton in the Republican runoff, but that has left his seat up for grabs.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:58] OK, let’s talk about that seat, and particularly the district. What part of town does that cover?
Olivia Aldridge [00:11:03] So the 21st congressional district stretches from basically North San Antonio to Southwest Austin, and then extends pretty far west to cover much of the Texas Hill Country. So like Kerrville, Bandera, Fredericksburg, a lot of those areas.
Jerry Quijano [00:11:18] Okay, you said Chip Roy ran for attorney general, so he’s not gonna be on the ballot for this race. Who are the candidates vying for this seat?
Olivia Aldridge [00:11:24] So on the Republican side, we’ve got Mark Deshara. He is a former major league baseball player who played for the Texas Rangers and the Yankees and some other teams. He didn’t respond to our interview requests, but he’s run on a platform of supporting President Trump’s agenda and advancing conservative priorities. He supports Doge and wants to expand it. He talks about ending what he calls radical woke indoctrination in schools. And wants really strong immigration enforcement policies. And he also has talked about trying to lower healthcare costs. On the other side, on the Democrat side, we’ve got Kristin Hook. She’s a scientist who worked for the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Government Accountability Office. She’s also focused on healthcare access and she’s very critical of the influence of large health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies in politics. She opposes the Trump administration’s current immigration policies and wants to end anonymous ICE raids. She’s also very concerned about protecting water resources in central Texas.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:28] Okay, so the seat, as it currently is, is held by a Republican. Do Republicans have an edge in that district?
Olivia Aldridge [00:12:33] Yeah, this is a pretty red district. A Republican has won in every election since 1978.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:40] Okay, now I’m turning to you, Katie, and talk about a district further up I-35, District 37. Who currently represents District 37?
Katy McAfee [00:12:48] District 37 is currently held by Congressman Lloyd Doggett, but he decided not to run for reelection after the state redrew its congressional district maps last year to strategically create five more Republican seats. So when those maps were redrawn, District 37 was squished to pretty much only include central Travis County. Other parts of the county are now included in the same district as Midland-Odessa. There’s another part of Travis County that’s included in this same district as a county that. Borders the Gulf Coast. So when that happened, Doggett decided to step down and kind of pass the torch on to another longtime congressman, Greg Kassar.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:26] Okay, so Greg Kassar is going to be running to represent the Democrats. Who is this challenger in this race?
Katy McAfee [00:13:31] He is facing a first-time Republican candidate, Lauren Peña. Peña is a paralegal and she’s a mother of six. And she said she was inspired to run because she struggled a lot in her teen years and in her early adulthood. And she wants to kind of reinvent some of the programs that helped her get back on her feet. Peña told me that when she was 16, she got pregnant and was kicked out of her home and also kicked out of high school with only a ninth grade education. She’d struggled for many years. She was homeless. She was a victim of human trafficking, but she was able to get back on her feet by getting a bachelor’s degree and getting into public housing where she still lives.
Jerry Quijano [00:14:11] OK, Greg Kassar is a name that might be familiar to a lot of Austinites. You mentioned his challenger’s platform. What is Congressman Kassarr planning to run on this time around?
Katy McAfee [00:14:20] Yeah, and he also might have a platform that’s pretty familiar to people in Austin. He wants to push his new affordability agenda, something that he outlined back in April. That includes plans to cap utility bills, childcare costs, groceries, prescription drug prices, really a lot of things that people are struggling to pay for. He also wants to pass a bill to ban surveillance pricing. This is a tactic allegedly used by airlines and other online retailers to charge people different rates based on their browsing history and personal data. He also told me he wants to charge a windfall tax on oil companies that are reporting high profits because of wartime crude oil prices, and offer as part of that bill offer a rebate to Americans who are paying for gas, overpaying for gas.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:10] Okay well District 37 is currently represented by a Democrat, but you mentioned the redrawing of the maps. Is it still expected to be a Democratic seat once we have tallied all the ballots?
Katy McAfee [00:15:21] Yeah, it would be a massive upset for this seat to turn over to a Republican. It’s been strategically drawn to be a Democratic seat and polling shows that Greg Kastar still has a strong lead.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:31] All right, we have been speaking with KUT’s Katie McAfee and Olivia Aldridge. We’re going to have a link to their stories on the races for U.S. House District 37 and 21 in today’s podcast, Show Notes. Olivia, Katie, thank you for being here.
Olivia Aldridge [00:15:44] Thanks, Jerry.
Katy McAfee [00:15:45] Thank you, Jerry
Jerry Quijano [00:15:46] And thank you out there for tuning in to Austin Signal. We got plenty more coming up for you. That is right after this quick break. This is Austin Signal, welcome back to the show. If you’re a frequent listener of KUT or KUTX, you’ve surely heard talk about Rock the Park. And hopefully you’ve had a chance to get out and enjoy one. And if not, well, you’re in luck because the 50th Rock the Parks show is happening this Friday at Gerard Kenny Park at Miller. To mark the milestone, we spoke to the creators and curators of Rock the park to find out just how much goes into putting on a fun free concert. For the community.
Voice [00:16:33] Three we’re gonna have everyone say their name so we can all get to know each other. Okay, we’ll say it too. One two
Tinu Thomas [00:16:45] On select Friday nights in Austin, hundreds of people spread out their blankets across the lawn at Miller Park for Rock the Park, KETX’s free outdoor concert series. Families, music fans, and neighbors gather to hear Austin artists perform under the evening sky.
Jacquie Fuller [00:17:02] We wanted to create an event for those folks in particular. Folks who can’t get out to go see Austin Music. So we wanted to bring Austin Music to them because that felt in line with our mission. Hi, my name is Jackie Fuller. I’m the assistant program director at KUTX. My role’s more logistics. First thing we have to do is set the dates. I start working on the permitting with the city of Austin to make sure that we have all the proper permits in place. This permitting. There’s booking, which I don’t do, Deidre and Bill do. Bill books the first act. And then Deidra Gott, who’s our live music booker here, books the headliners for Rock the Park.
Deidre Gott [00:17:46] I pay attention to the Austin music scene and, you know, what we play on air. I go to a lot of shows. My name is Deidre Gott. I am the assistant program director and live music booker for KUTX. So it’s just an ongoing process of knowing the Austin music scene, and what bands perform really well that I think kids would enjoy.
Deidre Gott [00:18:14] You know, I want to make sure that I’m getting a diverse lineup where we have different genres because I think that it’s great for these kids to see different representation across the board and be exposed to all sorts of music. I really leaned into, okay, well then let’s get bands from Austin that I know are popular and people love them and that all ages can love them, and be really entertaining for kids and their parents. So Bill books the opening band, which is the quote unquote kids band. He does his own thing, I do my own thing but they always work together.
Bill Childs [00:19:02] I’m Bill Childs, and The Opener is a band that I book, and it is often a kids’ band. Sometimes it is a ban that is simply kid-friendly and family-oriented, without being a kiddy event. It’s not just for little kids, it’s not for grownups, it is for all of the generations. Rock the Park, for that matter, is a really good way to provide a bridge for kids to say, okay, here’s kids’ music, and then here’s an act that is not kids’ music, but you can see sort of what some of the flow is. The goal is to raise a generation of radio nerds and of music nerds. What is better than hanging out outside with a bunch of your friends and family and neighbors in a park with great music and a chance for your kids to dance and grow up in and around music and to hopefully get them to be live music fans for a lifetime?
Jacquie Fuller [00:19:53] It’s just really beautiful to see people gathering together. The music is great, obviously, but it’s more than just the music. I think it is that sense of community that Rock the Park brings.
Tinu Thomas [00:20:05] You can find the full lineup of performers and other event details at KUTX.org. I’m Tinu Thomas in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:16] And again, the 50th Rock The Park Show is happening this Friday. The K-Pastas open up the show, followed by KUTX’s March Artist of the Month EddieAngel. Music starts at 6.30, but we’ve heard on Good Authority that you want to get there early and snag a good spot. It’s a mammoth sports weekend in Austin. The Spurs are in town for their first of three games at the Moody Center this weekend. The Longhorns are hosting Ole Miss Saturday night for a top 20 showdown, but the biggest of them all is happening out at Circuit of the Americas for the annual U.S. Grand Prix. KUT’s Juan Diego Garcia is gonna be out at the racetrack all weekend long, and he’s joining us now for a preview. Juan, thanks for being on the show.
Juan Diego Garcia [00:21:00] Thanks for having me again, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:01] OK, so it’s been a busy sports year already. For those of us, I’m talking about myself here, who have not been following along with the F1 season. What’s catching your attention coming into this weekend’s race?
Juan Diego Garcia [00:21:12] It’s one guy. And his name is Andrea Kimi Antonelli. He is, he’s young. And when I say young, he turned 20 in August.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:22] 20, two zero?
Juan Diego Garcia [00:21:23] Two zero. He’s been a teenager most of this year while he’s been winning races. And he’s going into the race at Circuit of the Americas with a chance to become the youngest ever Formula One world champion, beating Sebastian Fettel by about three years. Fetal won it in 2010 at age 23 and Kimi Antonelli could be moving the goalpost.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:44] Okay, so Antonelli, is this somebody who just came on the scene this season or somebody who’s been kind of creeping along the years past?
Juan Diego Garcia [00:21:50] He had his debut year last year, jumped straight into the Mercedes Formula One team and immediately impressed. He’s been impressing in Junior Formula for years. So it’s kind of capitulation of, you know, life’s work, if you will, getting to this point. But…
Jerry Quijano [00:22:09] All 20 years of that life.
Juan Diego Garcia [00:22:09] Right, but he’s certainly ahead of schedule.
Jerry Quijano [00:22:11] Only six unique winners have emerged victorious here in austin since the race became a staple in 2012 what are you thinking about this weekend’s race you think we’re gonna get a seventh name added to that list or maybe one of the old winners is gonna reprise uh their their victory here in Austin?
Juan Diego Garcia [00:22:27] There’s certainly a possibility. Mercedes have had the strongest car for the most part all year. Those gaps are starting to shrink progressively as the year has gone on. Kimi Antonelli would be a brand new winner at Coda should he win the race and he needs to if he wants to finish the championship a few rounds early. His teammate George Russell hasn’t won around Coda yet and he’s in the other Mercedes But Max Verstappen has won two races in a row, he is starting to look very dangerous. I think if we don’t get a brand new winner around coda it’s because Max went and won it all.
Jerry Quijano [00:23:05] Okay, Verstappen, that’s a name I’m familiar with. Kimi Antonelli is one I’m learning. Lewis Hamilton is also another winner here in Austin in years past. What’s another name that we should be watching out for this weekend to see something cool, see something we haven’t seen before?
Juan Diego Garcia [00:23:18] Well, Lewis’s teammate, Charles Leclerc, is also in this race. He’s also a prior winner around Circuit of the Americas. I’m going to throw another winner out there, Valtteri Bottas. He is back on the grid this year with a brand new team, the US-based mostly Cadillac Formula One team. But if they are the Cadillacs of Formula One, then the term is starting to lose its meaning a little bit because he’s… Not gonna win. I mean, I could say that with relative certainty it would take a series of miracles for a Cadillac to be on the top step of the podium
Jerry Quijano [00:23:57] Okay, now I gotta admit, I wanna see him win so that we can bring you back on the show next weekend and talk about the miracles that had to happen for that to come to fruition. Juan, you are a big presence in our Vamos Verde podcast and you and I are always talking about sports that are happening here and around Austin. What is your favorite part about F1 weekend about being out at the track at COTA?
Juan Diego Garcia [00:24:20] It’s a thrilling experience. The, you, as you’re arriving, you can already hear the engines screaming through the track. You get out of your car and you start to smell the burning rubber and the fuels and probably other fumes that are probably not great to breathe in. But it’s such a cool sensory experience. You walk through the whole complex. It’s enormous. There’s a lot of folks milling about, like excited about the race. There’s all of this like action and excitement. It feels really vibrant in the paddock. There’s just something really special about it. It’s why I love motor racing.
Jerry Quijano [00:24:57] All right, that is KUT’s Juan Diego Garcia. He’s gonna be covering the US Grand Prix out at COTA this weekend. Juan, thank you for your time and enjoy the race.
Juan Diego Garcia [00:25:06] Thanks, Jerry, always a pleasure.
Jerry Quijano [00:25:07] And thank you out there for spending part of the day here with us. That’s it for us today on Austin Signal. There’s more from us at KUT.org slash Signal. The Signal team is Karoline Pfeil, Alexandra Hart, Kristen Cabrera, and I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. We’ll talk to you tomorrow.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
