Texas attorney, former state senator, and two-term Mayor of Austin (1997–2001 and 2023–present). Returned to City Hall after two decades of state-level service to lead the city through its largest infrastructure expansion since the 1980s.
Kirk Watson was born November 23, 1958 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He moved to Texas to attend Baylor University in Waco, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1981 and his law degree in 1984. He built a career in Austin as a trial lawyer specializing in personal-injury and environmental cases, eventually becoming a name partner at the firm Watson Bowman Hicks & Pearson and later joining Brown McCarroll LLP.
His public-service career has unfolded in three distinct chapters. From 1997 to 2001 he served as Mayor of Austin during the city's first dot-com boom, working closely with the council to expand the airport, launch the Saltillo redevelopment, and recruit Samsung's first major Austin expansion. After an unsuccessful run for Texas Attorney General in 2002, he returned to law practice, then was elected to the Texas Senate (District 14) in 2006 and served from 2007 to 2020, where he chaired the Senate Democratic Caucus and built a reputation as a productive cross-aisle negotiator.
From 2020 to 2022 Watson served as the founding dean of the Jack S. Brooks Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. In late 2022 he announced his return to Austin politics, defeated state representative Celia Israel in a December runoff, and was sworn in as the city's 53rd mayor on January 6, 2023.
He is a survivor of testicular cancer (diagnosed and treated 1992–1993) and has spoken publicly about that experience as the origin of his interest in cancer-care policy. He and his wife Liz have two adult sons.
Under Austin's 10-1 council-manager system, the Mayor is one of 11 votes on the City Council and is elected by all city voters rather than by a single geographic district. Day-to-day operation of the city — some 16,000 employees and a $5+ billion annual budget — is handled by an appointed City Manager, currently T.C. Broadnax. The Mayor's authority is therefore largely agenda-setting rather than executive:
The Mayor's salary is set by the council; as of the current term it is approximately $96,000 per year, well below comparable executive roles. The position is intended to be a full-time public-service commitment rather than a separate career platform.
Oversight of the city's $7+ billion light-rail and transit expansion approved by voters in 2020. Watson inherited a project facing major cost-revision pressure and has pushed for a revised initial-investment plan and tighter accountability between the city, CapMetro, and the Austin Transit Partnership.
Backed the HOME (Home Options for Middle-income Empowerment) zoning amendments — the most consequential rewrite of Austin's residential land-use code in a generation — reducing minimum lot sizes and allowing up to three units on single-family lots citywide.
Coordinated city, county, and ECHO (Ending Community Homelessness Coalition) funding to scale supportive-housing units. Has been publicly critical of the pace and pushed for accountability metrics on outcomes per dollar.
Reached a 4-year police contract with the Austin Police Association after years of expired contracts, while restoring cadet classes and supporting independent oversight via the Office of Police Oversight.
Pushed Austin Water through post-2024-drought reforms, including the Water Forward 2024 plan that increases conservation, reuse, and aquifer-storage capacity in anticipation of long-term Highland Lakes decline.
Leveraged his Texas Senate relationships to negotiate with state leadership on preemption legislation, the Capitol Complex, and transportation funding — areas where Austin and Texas state government frequently collide.
Watson's first stint as mayor coincided with Austin's emergence as a tech hub. Notable accomplishments from that era include:
Watson left City Hall in 2001 to run unsuccessfully for Texas Attorney General. His name has been on enough downtown buildings, transit plans, and convention-center expansions since that "what would Watson do?" became a recurring frame in Austin civic debate well before he returned to office.
Watson represented Senate District 14 — covering most of Travis County and parts of Bastrop and Hays — for 13 years. Highlights:
The Mayor's effectiveness depends almost entirely on building durable coalitions among the ten district council members. The current council has shifted measurably toward a YIMBY-leaning, pro-density majority on land use, which has aligned with Watson's HOME initiative. On police-budget questions and homelessness funding, the coalitions are looser and reset issue-by-issue.
Watson defeated three opponents in the general election to win his first term, succeeding Bruce Todd. He was re-elected without runoff in 2000 (Austin mayors were limited to two consecutive terms; he did not seek a third).
Watson won the Democratic primary but lost the general election to Republican Greg Abbott by ~14 points, a result widely attributed to the GOP's structural advantage in Texas statewide races rather than to Watson's campaign.
Open seat. Watson won the Democratic primary and the general election; he served until his 2020 resignation.
Six-candidate November field. Watson and state representative Celia Israel advanced to a December runoff. Watson won 50.4% — 49.6%, a margin of approximately 890 votes, one of the closest mayoral elections in Austin's modern history.
Office of the Mayor
Austin City Hall
301 W. 2nd Street, Austin, TX 78701
(512) 978-2100
austintexas.gov/department/mayor
Council meetings are held Thursdays at City Hall and streamed at ATXN.tv. Public comment opens at the start of each meeting and on individual agenda items.
This is a civic-reference profile compiled from public records, City Clerk filings, Texas Ethics Commission data, and verified news coverage. Specific dollar figures, vote tallies, and policy positions may shift between elections and council votes; users planning to act on this information should verify against current City of Austin and Travis County sources. Last reviewed: May 2026.