District 8 · Southwest Austin
Paige Ellis
Environmental compliance professional, only renter on the dais, lead sponsor of the 2020 Active Mobility Bond.
Environmental compliance professional, only renter on the dais, lead sponsor of the 2020 Active Mobility Bond.
Paige Ellis represents Southwest Austin’s District 8, which encompasses more than 98,000 residents and some of Austin’s most iconic outdoor destinations — Zilker Park, Barton Springs Pool, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center among them.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from UT San Antonio and brought eight years of professional experience in environmental compliance for housing development and regional transportation projects to her council role. She was first elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022.
Ellis has prioritized mobility, parks improvements, housing access, and affordability. Notable accomplishments include leading passage of the 2020 Active Mobility Bond and shaping the Project Connect initiative. She is the only renter currently serving on council, which strengthens her advocacy for tenant assistance and rental-stability programs.
District 8 covers southwest austin Austin and includes neighborhoods such as Oak Hill, Circle C Ranch, Travis Country, Western Oaks, Maple Run, Sunset Valley adj., Ridgemont, Barton Hills (west), Zilker (west portion). 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.
Lead sponsor of the 2020 Active Mobility Bond — sidewalks, urban trails, bike infrastructure.
One of the original council architects of the $7.1 billion transit plan.
Only current member who rents; champions tenant-assistance programs.
District contains Zilker, Barton Springs, the Wildflower Center; environmental review is a constant.
Western D8 has wildland-urban-interface exposure similar to D10 and D6.
Austin residents can contact any council member, but for district-specific issues (zoning, code enforcement, neighborhood concerns) the District 8 office is the right starting point.
