An Austin resident since 1983, I grew up in northwest Austin and raised my family in West Campus, Downtown, UT student family housing, Bouldin, Allandale, and Mueller. I have navigated life through the city’s evolution and economic ups and downs. I understand, from that lived experience, what is at stake.

Katie Kam for Austin

The city’s constant change inspired my education and career choices. I chose to become a biologist (1996), an urban planner at the city (1999), an Austin ISD high school science teacher (2007-2009), and a civil and transportation engineer (2009-present) to be an integral part of helping my beloved Austin. I earned five degrees (four from UT-Austin), including a Master’s in Community & Regional Planning and PhD in civil engineering to understand the social, economic, and engineering challenges cities face.

Katie Kam grew up in northwest Austin and has been an Austin resident since 1983. She earned five degrees, including a master's degree in community and regional planning and a PhD in civil engineering; four of her degrees are from UT-Austin. She raised her family in several Austin neighborhoods.

My more than 28 years of professional experience includes being a City of Austin employee for eight years in development review, planning, and capital delivery and an assistant director managing a $190+ million transportation, parks, and drainage capital projects program for the City of Pflugerville. I saved the City of Pflugerville millions of dollars by eliminating unnecessary consulting costs, implementing more efficient processes, and improving designs of infrastructure projects.

I’ve been a local business owner, start-up founder, published university researcher, community advocate, and practitioner working in the public and private sector in planning, civil engineering, and science. As a result, I bring a much-needed blend of real-world experience and technical expertise, which is invaluable in my role as facilitator and advocate for the district and city.

Katie currently works as a civil and transportation engineer. She previously worked for the City of Austin in development review, planning, and capital delivery; served as an assistant director for the City of Pflugerville; taught high school science at Austin Independent School District; worked as an urban planner and biologist; and was a local business owner, start-up founder, and published university researcher.

2026 Texas General Election

I know firsthand as a former city employee and from the city auditor’s reports and on-going investigations that the city’s bloated budget stems from waste and mismanagement, which occur when Council does not engage in enough questioning and oversight. We need transparency and accountability, not assumptions. The winning outcome: funding for the city services and projects people value.

City Budget & Projects | Katie Kam for Austin

The city’s hotel occupancy tax (HOT) revenue can and should be spent in support of Austin’s music, arts, and culture and the creation of a cultural venue; NOT on a new, multi-billion-dollar convention center. I personally collected more than 4,000 signatures for the petition campaign to stop the center; the community understands another convention center is not right for Austin’s future or tourism economy.

Austin's Culture | Katie Kam for Austin

The development review process is costly and inefficient, with high fees that are inequitable and especially difficult for homeowners and small local business owners to pay. I will continue to advocate for a fee structure and review process that is not a financial burden.

Built & Natural Environment | Katie Kam for Austin

Calls for city budget transparency and oversight to address waste and mismanagement while funding valued city services and projects.

Opposes using hotel occupancy tax revenue for a new convention center and supports directing it to music, arts, culture, and a cultural venue.

Advocates reducing financial burdens from development-review fees and processes, particularly for homeowners and small local businesses.

- Calls for city budget transparency and oversight to address waste and mismanagement while funding valued city services and projects.
- Opposes using hotel occupancy tax revenue for a new convention center and supports directing it to music, arts, culture, and a cultural venue.
- Advocates reducing financial burdens from development-review fees and processes, particularly for homeowners and small local businesses.

Economy

We need to prioritize maintenance and critical infrastructure projects that improve the everyday Austin experience (e.g., sidewalks, pothole repair, flooding, roadway safety, parks maintenance, animal services). The city does not have unlimited funding: we need to focus on needs first before optional wants. I will continue to insist on close monitoring of and public involvement in capital improvement projects to ensure timely and efficient progress of well-designed projects.

Austin neighborhoods need their schools back. I chose to raise my kids in central Austin because I wanted them to experience being able to walk and bike to school, parks, stores, and summer camps and to have access to transit. That experience was part of the magic of living in Austin. The heartbreaking closure of neighborhood schools warrants stronger collaboration with Austin ISD to identify temporary uses of the schools and what needs to happen for the schools to reopen.

Neighborhoods & Schools | Katie Kam for Austin

Prioritizes maintenance and critical infrastructure, including sidewalks, pothole repairs, flood mitigation, road safety, parks, and animal services, ahead of optional projects.

Plans to seek close monitoring and public involvement in capital improvement projects.

Calls for stronger collaboration with Austin Independent School District to identify temporary school uses and steps to reopen closed neighborhood schools.

- Prioritizes maintenance and critical infrastructure, including sidewalks, pothole repairs, flood mitigation, road safety, parks, and animal services, ahead of optional projects.
- Plans to seek close monitoring and public involvement in capital improvement projects.
- Calls for stronger collaboration with Austin Independent School District to identify temporary school uses and steps to reopen closed neighborhood schools.

Public Services

The city has moved away from that to city wide code changes (e.g., HOME, density bonus). Unfortunately, those code changes have not been appropriate for neighborhoods or for addressing affordable housing and should not continue. We need to replace the city-wide code changes with neighborhood planning and regulations created and informed by the planning efforts.

It is not too late to change course: the construction in progress would continue the site preparation but for a world class, interactive, and immersive cultural and visitor information venue that highlights Austin’s cultural history and present. I will insist on a public visioning process for the venue, park, and site, including the option of selling a portion of the 6-blocks of expensive downtown land to return the land to the property tax rolls and to add affordable downtown housing.

The built environment is the way people experience and feel about Austin. We need to co-create our city through inclusive public engagement. I have years of experience negotiating with developers to modify their development plans so that they better fit within the community’s goals and that prioritize the lived experience of those most impacted by the development. The city needs to continue to explore to find the most effective tools and programs to maintain and add affordable housing.

Opposes continuing citywide housing code changes and supports neighborhood-based planning and regulations to address affordability.

Plans to seek public input on redeveloping the convention-center site, including potential affordable downtown housing on part of the land.

Supports inclusive public engagement in development decisions and continuing to explore tools and programs to preserve and add affordable housing.

- Opposes continuing citywide housing code changes and supports neighborhood-based planning and regulations to address affordability.
- Plans to seek public input on redeveloping the convention-center site, including potential affordable downtown housing on part of the land.
- Supports inclusive public engagement in development decisions and continuing to explore tools and programs to preserve and add affordable housing.

Housing & Urban Development

Design matters for safety. I will continue to insist on the design of safer built environments (e.g., Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)) and safer roads to significantly reduce crashes, injuries, and deaths (e.g., Vision Zero) so Austin Police and Fire and EMS can provide for other public safety needs. The city’s transportation system should be designed to reduce speeds, such as with roundabouts, speed monitoring signs, traffic calming measures, and low speed vehicle (LSV) infrastructure, to lessen the burden on Police to enforce speeds.

Public & Traffic Safety | Katie Kam for Austin

Quality of life requires feeling safe. Creating a safe city requires respectful, diligent, and streamlined collaboration with Austin Police and Fire, EMS, first responders, code enforcement, Homeless Strategy Office, mental health providers, animal services, and the community (residents and business owners). I encourage research and pilot programs to advance our ability and understanding of how to improve public safety.

Advocates Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and Vision Zero road-safety measures to reduce crashes, injuries, and deaths.

Encourages collaboration among public-safety agencies, service providers, residents, and businesses, alongside research and pilot programs to improve public safety.

- Advocates Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and Vision Zero road-safety measures to reduce crashes, injuries, and deaths.
- Encourages collaboration among public-safety agencies, service providers, residents, and businesses, alongside research and pilot programs to improve public safety.

Public Safety

Our roadways should be made safe for low speed modes such as neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs), golf carts, and e-trikes/quadbikes. A grassroots movement has been happening around the US of people choosing low speed modes for grocery shopping, school drop-offs, commuting to work, going out, shopping, and meeting neighbors. NEVs are a fun, practical, and affordable mode that improves mobility and safety – and and they increase the capacity of existing roadways. I have successfully advocated for infrastructure for low speed modes in Central Texas transportation plans and will continue to do so for Austin.

Transportation | Katie Kam for Austin

Kam said she would advocate for increasing accessibility to infrastructure that can accommodate low-speed electric vehicles like golf carts and electric trikes. “Let’s get out of this idea that we just have walking, biking … cars and buses (when) we have these other mobility options,” Kam said.

Now is the right time: UT alumna joins race for UT’s City Council district

We need safer, more efficient roads that follow the “safe systems approach,” which focuses on designing roadways to prevent crashes and not relying on driving behavior alone for safety. Traffic signals are dangerous and inefficient (how much time in your life have you wasted sitting at a red light?). Austin’s traffic signals should be replaced with roundabouts, just as the City of Carmel, Indiana, did with great success. As a civil engineer, Lower cost “quickbuild” roundabouts can be deployed without having to rebuild the intersection. I’ll bring that level of expertise to city council

I support efforts to reduce the amount of land used for parking; however, since cars continue to be the primary transportation mode for most Austinites, we have to couple parking policies with proactive plans to prevent or mitigate the negative impacts of spillover parking in neighborhoods, such as reduced neighborhood walkability and residents unable to find parking for their own vehicles. Installation of sidewalks and residential permit parking and/or parking management districts prior to parking restrictions, for example, helps mitigate/eliminate spillover parking.

I want excellent transit with high ridership that prioritizes being of benefit to the residents of Austin and their everyday travel needs. I have been recognized twice by the American Public Transportation Foundation for my research and thought leadership on transit. I am pro-transit, but I do not support the Project Connect light rail project. The Project Connect light rail is the wrong transit technology and route. Austin’s future demands we make thoughtful decisions now, so I oppose light rail for the following reasons:

According to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) report 0234, light rail has the: highest rates of injury to occupants in other vehicles and to pedestrians not in crosswalks compared with any other transit mode; second highest number of fatalities of pedestrians in and not in a crosswalk, following transit bus; second highest number of fatalities to pedestrians/cyclists; highest rate of injuries occurring at pedestrian or street crossings; accounting for 83.2% of total light rail injuries. Those concerns warrant stopping the project and re-opening a community discussion about creating the best transit system that is safe and works for Austin’s transportation needs.

Austin should consider increasing responsiveness and service areas with on-demand transit, improving transit travel times and safety with elevated transit (e.g., monorail, and sky gondolas (all used successfully in other cities)), and aim for higher ridership with routes that reach more people, especially in areas with households dependent on transit or in most need of reducing transportation time and costs.

I’ve lived long enough and studied transportation engineering (PhD) to know that highway and roadway expansions do not work; the traffic congestion, and frustration, returns within a few years. Instead, we can increase capacity and efficiency without expansions through a variety of ways (e.g., roundabouts, improved connectivity, low speed modes, enhanced commuter transit). I will be a vocal advocate on Council and with CAMPO and TxDOT, for shifting away from “roadway expansion as usual” to a new, more effective, multi-modal, and lower cost transportation future.

Advocates for roadway infrastructure that safely accommodates low-speed vehicles, including neighborhood electric vehicles, golf carts, and electric trikes.

Proposes replacing Austin traffic signals with roundabouts as part of a safe-systems approach to road design.

Supports reducing land devoted to parking while mitigating spillover parking in neighborhoods through measures such as sidewalks and residential parking management.

Opposes the Project Connect light-rail project and calls for a new community discussion on an alternative transit system.

Proposes considering on-demand and elevated transit and expanding routes to increase ridership and reach transit-dependent areas.

Opposes highway and roadway expansions and advocates multimodal alternatives, including roundabouts, improved connectivity, low-speed modes, and commuter transit.

- Advocates for roadway infrastructure that safely accommodates low-speed vehicles, including neighborhood electric vehicles, golf carts, and electric trikes.
- Proposes replacing Austin traffic signals with roundabouts as part of a safe-systems approach to road design.
- Supports reducing land devoted to parking while mitigating spillover parking in neighborhoods through measures such as sidewalks and residential parking management.
- Opposes the Project Connect light-rail project and calls for a new community discussion on an alternative transit system.
- Proposes considering on-demand and elevated transit and expanding routes to increase ridership and reach transit-dependent areas.
- Opposes highway and roadway expansions and advocates multimodal alternatives, including roundabouts, improved connectivity, low-speed modes, and commuter transit.

Transportation & Infrastructure

From the sky, Austin’s tree canopy and natural environment stands out as one of the defining features of the city. Austin’s reputation of being a “green” city requires proactive, careful land planning to maintain the much-needed “urban lungs” and cooling shade provided by trees and vegetation.

Austin started the world’s first city green building program; however, recent City decisions deviate from those values. Policies should encourage maintenance, preservation, and adaptive reuse of buildings and bridges, such as the Barton Springs Zilker Park Bridge, existing housing, and buildings that contribute to the historic fabric of the city. Historic preservation is green building and key to maintaining charming character and a physical reminder of the stories of Austin.

Watershed planning should manage stormwater as a community asset to create new parks and green spaces, improve water quality, and facilitate more sustainable development.

Supports proactive land planning to preserve tree canopy and vegetation.

Supports policies encouraging maintenance, preservation, and repurposing of buildings, bridges, and existing housing.

Supports watershed planning that uses stormwater to create parks and green spaces, improve water quality, and facilitate sustainable development.

- Supports proactive land planning to preserve tree canopy and vegetation.
- Supports policies encouraging maintenance, preservation, and repurposing of buildings, bridges, and existing housing.
- Supports watershed planning that uses stormwater to create parks and green spaces, improve water quality, and facilitate sustainable development.

Energy & the Environment

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Katie Kam

- Encourages collaboration among public-safety agencies, service providers, residents, and businesses, alongside research and pilot programs to improve public safety.

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Zohaib “Zo” Qadri

- 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.

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