Council Member José Velásquez is a community activist, thought leader, and proud son of Austin. He was raised in East Austin with his three siblings by a hardworking, tenacious single mother who instilled in him a commitment to service and the heart to fight for his community.

City of Austin District 3

José Velásquez was raised in East Austin.

District 3 | City of Austin | AustinTexas.gov

The candidates are:

- José Velasquez, a former Austin city employee and community activist.
- Vanessa Silva, a local business owner and advocate for affordable housing.

Austin runoff election: Velasquez, Silva run to represent City Council District 3

Velásquez, who grew up in East Austin, works as a marketing consultant and has been a board member of organizations such as Latinitas and the Greater Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Silva is a local activist and volunteer.

José Velásquez wins race for District 3 seat on Austin City Council

José Velásquez works as a marketing consultant. He previously worked as an Austin city employee.

Austin City Council election: José Velásquez wins District 3 seat

José works as a marketing consultant. He previously worked as an Austin city employee.

Term of Office

Jan. 6, 2023 through Jan. 6, 2027

Council Member José Velásquez is a community activist, thought leader, and proud son of Austin.

José currently serves as the Austin City Council member for District 3. His term runs from Jan. 6, 2023, through Jan. 6, 2027.

2026 Texas General Election

As of September 10, 2026, José Velásquez’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Economy

Public Services

Together we’ll work to:
  1. Encourage more pedestrian and cycling traffic by ensuring safer streets, bike lanes, green space, walking trails and equitable access to public transportation.
  2. Work for more and affordable housing options that truly represent the lived experiences of all Austinites.
  3. Preserve and build more affordable housing stock to accommodate native Austinites and newcomers.
  4. Bridge the deep divide between old and new Austin by taking an active leadership role in community building initiatives, sustainability and leveraging our relationships to bring about a greater sense of solidarity.

2022 Austin City Council Candidate Questionnaire – Friends of Austin Neighborhoods

If reelected, what would be your top housing and mobility priorities for the next term?

> Anti – Displacement and pro-housing. Part of what has worked for our office is building broad coalitions around housing and dispelling arcane arguments that housing and zoning reform has to displace residents.

Austin City Council Early Endorsement Questionnaire 2026

Given Austin’s historic investment in Project Connect, what types of development would you support along the East Riverside Corridor to ensure the success of the light rail, the surrounding businesses and the community over the long term? How would you support those goals as part of the City planning process?

> I support transit-oriented development along East Riverside that makes light rail successful while keeping the corridor accessible, affordable, and community-centered.

That means more mixed-use and affordable housing near transit, safer walkability and bike connections, and commercial spaces that support small businesses and neighborhood-serving retail.

The City of Austin is working on missing middle districts. Where in District 3 would you like to see missing middle districts mapped, and what process would you use to get them adopted?

> I would prioritize missing middle housing along transit corridors, commercial corridors, and areas near jobs, schools, and services especially places like 7th street, Riverside, Oltorf and s. congress…where residents can realistically live with greater access to transit and daily necessities.

The process matters just as much as the map. I would focus on early and consistent community engagement, clear education around what missing middle housing actually is, anti-displacement protections, and close coordination with neighborhood stakeholders, renters, homeowners, and small businesses. The goal should be adding housing opportunities while preserving community stability and expanding affordability across District 3.

Advocates for preserving and building affordable housing stock.

Advocates for policies that support housing construction and zoning reform alongside efforts to prevent displacement.

Supports development near transit on East Riverside that keeps the corridor accessible, affordable, and community-centered.

Prioritizes a range of housing types between single-family homes and large apartment buildings along transit and commercial corridors, with community engagement and protections against displacement.

- Advocates for preserving and building affordable housing stock.
- Advocates for policies that support housing construction and zoning reform alongside efforts to prevent displacement.
- Supports development near transit on East Riverside that keeps the corridor accessible, affordable, and community-centered.
- Prioritizes a range of housing types between single-family homes and large apartment buildings along transit and commercial corridors, with community engagement and protections against displacement.

Housing & Urban Development

Public Safety

When investing in pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure reduces vehicle capacity or travel times for drivers, what should the City prioritize and why? Please use a current East Austin example to illustrate your answer.

> The City should prioritize safety, accessibility, and moving people efficiently over simply maximizing vehicle speed.

As Austin grows, we cannot build transportation policy solely around faster car travel. Investments in sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit create safer streets, improve mobility, and support long-term economic growth.

District 3 contains a significant share of Austin’s affordable housing, but much of it is disconnected, fenced off, or difficult to live in without a car. What specific actions should the City take to better connect housing to jobs, transit, schools, and services?

> We need to stop treating affordable housing as isolated projects and start treating it as connected community infrastructure.

That means investing in sidewalks, safe crossings, shade, bike infrastructure, frequent transit, and better first- and last-mile connections around affordable housing sites.

That means investing in sidewalks, safe crossings, shade, bike infrastructure, frequent transit, and better first- and last-mile connections around affordable housing sites. It also means co-locating housing near jobs, schools, childcare, healthcare, grocery stores, and transit corridors not pushing affordability to disconnected areas without services.

As a city, we should prioritize transit-oriented affordable housing, stronger connectivity requirements in the development process, and infrastructure investments that make it possible to live safely and affordably without needing a car for every daily necessity.

Prioritizes safety, accessibility, and efficient movement of people over maximizing vehicle speed.

Advocates for sidewalks, safe crossings, bicycle infrastructure, frequent transit, and connections to and from transit stops around affordable housing.

- Prioritizes safety, accessibility, and efficient movement of people over maximizing vehicle speed.
- Advocates for sidewalks, safe crossings, bicycle infrastructure, frequent transit, and connections to and from transit stops around affordable housing.

Transportation & Infrastructure

Energy & the Environment

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

José Velásquez

- Advocates for policies that support housing construction and zoning reform alongside efforts to prevent displacement.
- Supports development near transit on East Riverside that keeps the corridor accessible, affordable, and community-centered.
- Prioritizes a range of housing types between single-family homes and large apartment buildings along transit and commercial corridors, with community engagement and protections against displacement.

District 3 | AustinTexas.gov

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two candidates are vying for the City Council District 3 seat in Austin’s runoff election on Dec. 13. The candidates are:

- José Velasquez, a former Austin city employee and community activist.
- Vanessa Silva, a local business owner and advocate for affordable housing.

Austin runoff election: Velásquez, Silva run to represent City Council District 3

Council Member José M.A. Velásquez
District 3

Term of Office

Jan. 6, 2023 through Jan. 6, 2027

Given Austin’s historic investment in Project Connect, what types of development would you support along the East Riverside Corridor to ensure the success of the light rail, the surrounding businesses and the community over the long term? How would you support those goals as part of the City planning process?

> I support transit-oriented development along East Riverside that makes light rail successful while keeping the corridor accessible, affordable, and community-centered.
>
> That means more mixed-use and affordable housing near transit, safer walkability and bike connections, and commercial spaces that support small businesses and neighborhood-serving retail.

It supports commercial spaces near East Riverside light rail that serve small businesses and neighborhood retail.

- It supports commercial spaces near East Riverside light rail that serve small businesses and neighborhood retail.

Prioritizes missing-middle housing near transit, commercial corridors, jobs, schools, and services, with community engagement and measures to prevent displacement.

Prioritizes transit-oriented affordable housing, development connectivity requirements, and infrastructure that connects affordable homes with daily necessities.

Supports housing and zoning reforms paired with measures to prevent displacement.

- Supports housing and zoning reforms paired with measures to prevent displacement.

When investing in pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure reduces vehicle capacity or travel times for drivers, what should the City prioritize and why? Please use a current East Austin example to illustrate your answer.

> The City should prioritize safety, accessibility, and moving people efficiently over simply maximizing vehicle speed.

When investing in pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure reduces vehicle capacity or travel times for drivers, what should the City prioritize and why? Please use a current East Austin example to illustrate your answer.

> The City should prioritize safety, accessibility, and moving people efficiently over simply maximizing vehicle speed.
>
> As Austin grows, we cannot build transportation policy solely around faster car travel. Investments in sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit create safer streets, improve mobility, and support long-term economic growth.

Supports transit-oriented development along East Riverside, with station-area planning, affordability tools, anti-displacement strategies, and community engagement.

It prioritizes pedestrian, bicycle, and transit safety and accessibility over maximizing vehicle speed.

- It prioritizes pedestrian, bicycle, and transit safety and accessibility over maximizing vehicle speed.

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Buket Urgen

Brock Skinner

Eduardo “Lalito” Romero

Gavin Fernandez Jr.

Neha Shah

- City council members collaborate to create and enforce city policies, including legislation on essential services like police, fire, parks, libraries, and utilities.
- They work alongside the mayor to manage city departments, including transportation and parks and recreation.
- Council members can be elected to represent specific districts or the entire city at-large.
- The structure of city councils, including the number of members, their terms, term limits, and partisanship, differs by county.

Passes laws and regulations for your city.