Northwest Austin voters oust Mackenzie Kelly, city council's lone conservative member
In an election that brought stunning Republican victories up and down the ballot, there was at least one notable conservative defeat.
Austin City Council member Mackenzie Kelly, who has represented District 6 since 2021, lost to former commercial real estate appraiser Krista Laine by 2.6%, according to unofficial final results from Travis and Williamson counties.
Council races are nonpartisan but since taking office Kelly has cemented her reputation as the governing body's only right-leaning member. With her defeat, the 11-member council will again consist of all left-leaning members.
"Really proud of the work we accomplished, but we came up short this time," Kelly wrote early Wednesday in a post on X. "Just because we're down today doesn't mean we're ever out."
Laine told the American-Statesman in an interview Wednesday that she's "ready to get to work." She has her sights set on addressing slow emergency response times and boosting efficiency at certain city departments including permitting.
The council member-elect worked for a decade as a commercial real estate appraiser in Austin before co-founding Access Education RRISD , an advocacy organization that supports the Round Rock School District.
Council members serve staggered, four-year terms and are not allowed to have other jobs while in office. Last fiscal year, they were paid around $121,000 .
It's common for sitting council members to win re-election but voters in northwest Austin's District 6 voters have a history of booting incumbents.
In 2020, Kelly beat sitting Council Member Jimmy Flanagan in a runoff election. Flannigan, in turn, had ousted conservative council member Don Zimmerman in 2016.
Kelly's defeat comes after the city redrew council maps to jive with the latest census figures.
During her re-election campaign, Kelly tried to present herself as more moderate. But Laine called her bluff, highlighting Kelly's right-leaning voting record and posting photos she had taken with Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans.
The strategy ultimately prevailed.
