FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) _ Voters head to the polls Saturday in four of the state’s biggest cities to cast ballots in mayoral races.
One is Austin, where former state comptroller and gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn is in a tough fight to win back her old job as Austin mayor.
Term limits bar Austin Mayor Will Wynn from seeking a third three-year term, but his successor will face a $30 million shortfall in the city budget next year.
The Austin American-Statesman has endorsed City Councilman Brewster McCracken, who seems to be leading the pack with his pledge to keep attracting clean-energy businesses and jobs in the biotech, health care and film industries. Councilman Lee Leffingwell has promised to protect police and other basic city services and has backing from several groups usually key to a mayoral win.
Strayhorn was the first woman to serve as Austin’s mayor when she served three terms from 1977 through 1983.
Elsewhere, Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief has his first real opposition since his first election in 2003. Nine contenders are squaring off in San Antonio, and the El Paso Mayor John Cook is seeking a second four-year term against five challengers.