Former Texas Sen. Kirk Watson defeated incumbent Texas Rep. Celia Israel in Tuesday’s runoff election for Austin mayor, per reports from Austin-based media outlets.
Israel and Watson are names associated with the Texas Legislature who sought to become the successor to Steve Adler, who is term-limited.
By securing election to the state capital’s highest office, Watson reclaims a position he held from 1997 to 2001.
Austin ABC affiliate KVUE reported that Watson emerged as the victor of what was a close race decided by a few hundred votes.
He and Israel were the top two leading vote getters in the November election, with the former garnering barely 40% of the vote at the time.
According to the station, on Tuesday, Watson trailed Israel by about 17 votes in Travis County, but it was the 62% of the vote among City of Austin voters in Williamson County that gave the former an edge.
Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported that Watson believes the city’s future “will get brighter and brighter and brighter.”
He kept tabs on the results at a watch party in the Rosedale neighborhood, per Austin CBS affiliate KEYE.
“I’m as grateful today as I was 25 years ago to be entrusted with this job,” Watson said, KEYE reported.
Israel monitored the race at an event in North Austin, according to KEYE.
While she conceded defeat, the station reported, she acknowledged those residents who are struggling with growing unaffordability, one of her mayoral campaign’s platforms.
When he first left politics, Watson transitioned to the world of academia, becoming the first dean of the University of Houston’s (UH) Hobby School of Public Affairs.
As Austin mayor, he’ll lead a city that has witnessed impressive growth in various areas in recent years and is now home to nearly one million people compared to approximately 700,000 during his first stint.