All-Blue Austin City Council seems likely as lone Republican is unseated

The final election results are in and Republican incumbent District 6 Council Member Mackenzie Kelly has been unseated by challenger Krista Laine.

The move all but assures the city will see an entirely Democratic body starting next year, even as two races head towards a runoff in December.

With a background in political activism, housing, and transportation, Krista Laine says she's ready to hit the ground running as . She ousted Republican incumbent Mackenzie Kelly by roughly a three-percent margin.

"After almost a year of campaigning, I am just very excited to get to work on the problems and issues that matter to District 6," Laine said. "I really think that on the heels of this election, it is high time to put aside the partisanship and focus instead on problem-solving."

While districts seven and ten are heading to a runoff election, Democrats Jose "Chito" Vela and Vanessa Fuentes kept their seats. CBS Austin caught up with Fuentes at the Travis County Democratic watch party Tuesday night.

"Austinites have made their voices heard this election cycle, and I'm really thrilled to live in a community that values our vote, and so we'll continue to make progress," Fuentes said.

Though Laine will be replacing Austin city council's lone conservative, District 5 city council member Ryan Alter says political affiliation shouldn't really matter.

"Whether that's Republicans, Democrats, or a mix thereof, we need to deliver for working-class people so that they can live productive, happy lives," Alter said. "I know that we might have disagreements on how to do that, but I look forward to having those conversations."

For all these council members, the priorities remain the same: affordable housing, homelessness, transportation, and public safety.

"With what has happened both at the state and federal levels, it's pretty clear we're not going to have any help to do it, and so the City Council is going to be the body that is going to have to address these challenges for our community," Alter said.

Laine says she is ready to collaborate and help move the city in the right direction.

"We do need diversity of thought on our city council, but to me, that doesn't look like diversity of partisan politics," Laine said. "It looks like diversity of skills and experience for the problems that face our city today."