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The Texas Tribune is hosting a Jan. 24 conversation with Kirk Watson, who will talk about what he plans to do as mayor of Austin, what his experience in the Legislature has taught him since his last tenure as mayor and what he’s looking for in the 2023 legislative session.
The conversation, which takes place at noon Central time, will be moderated by Tribune editor in chief Sewell Chan. It will also be livestreamed.
Watson was the mayor of Austin from 1997 to 2001. He was defeated in his bid for Texas attorney general in 2002. In 2006, he successfully ran for state senator of Senate District 14, which covers Bastrop County and parts of Travis County. He served as vice chair of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, as well as on the Senate Business and Commerce, Economic Development, Jurisprudence, and Nominations committees.
In 2008, he was appointed as one of two senators to the state Business Tax Advisory Committee.Watson has become a prominent voice on transportation, clean energy and higher education issues, and he has campaigned to broaden transparency of the state’s finances and increase health coverage for Texans, particularly children. Watson has served on many committees, including the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), of which he is the former transportation policy board chair. Watson most recently served as the first dean of the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs.
Disclosure: The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization, is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
