District 1 · East Austin
Natasha Harper-Madison
Small business owner and East Austin native who became the first council member elected from the redrawn District 1 to win a second term.
Small business owner and East Austin native who became the first council member elected from the redrawn District 1 to win a second term.
Natasha Harper-Madison was born and raised in District 1, which covers East Austin north of the Colorado River. She entered politics through grassroots community advocacy on housing and economic-mobility issues, and built her own small business before running for council in 2018.
In 2020 her colleagues elected her Mayor Pro Tem, the second Black woman to hold the position in Austin’s history. She has used the Mayor Pro Tem platform and her chairmanship of the Housing and Planning Committee to push for higher-density zoning in transit corridors, expanded ADU rules, and an anti-displacement policy framework.
She is a breast cancer survivor and a mother of four. Her policy framing consistently centers the lived experience of long-time East Austin residents who have been priced out of the neighborhoods they grew up in.
District 1 covers east austin Austin and includes neighborhoods such as MLK, Rosewood, Chestnut, East Cesar Chavez, Govalle (north), Mueller (eastern edge), Windsor Park (south portion), Springdale, J.J. Seabrook, Pecan Springs. Council members are accountable to the residents of their single district as well as to the city as a whole — that is the core idea of the 10-1 system.
Standing committees do most of the early-stage policy work before items reach the full council. Chair and vice-chair roles confer meaningful agenda-setting power.
Anchoring long-time East Austin residents through targeted housing programs as growth pushes east.
Land-use reform, ADU expansion, and density along transit corridors.
Programs supporting Black- and Latino-owned small businesses.
Bike, sidewalk, and transit infrastructure investment for historically under-served districts.
Austin residents can contact any council member, but for district-specific issues (zoning, code enforcement, neighborhood concerns) the District 1 office is the right starting point.
