District 3 council race: José Velásquez faces four challengers over Dog's Head. Here is how he voted

East Austin's District 3 has a five-way council race on the Nov. 3 ballot, and much of it turns on Dog's Head. That is the 2,600-acre development in southeast Travis County that the council approved this year, anchored by Amazon's robotics division. Incumbent José Velásquez faces Eduardo "Lalito" Romero, Brock Skinner, Gavino Fernandez Jr. and Neha Shah, KUT reported. Axios reported that all four challengers criticize the council's support for the project.

The candidates

According to KUT:

• José Velásquez, in office since 2024, says his priority is affordable housing. He says Dog's Head will grow the tax base. He opposes Prop I, calling it "redundancy."
• Neha Shah, a tech entrepreneur, said the May vote led her to run. She called the urgency around the deal "fake urgency."
• Gavino Fernandez Jr., an activist from the Holly neighborhood, opposes Dog's Head, citing a lack of transparency, and supports Prop I.
• Brock Skinner focuses on city spending, called Dog's Head an "egregious deal" and supports Prop I.
• Eduardo Romero did not answer KUT's questionnaire.

How Velásquez voted on Dog's Head

KUT reported that Velásquez supported the project in May and voted against the council's July plan to build it out. Our records show the specific votes.

May 21: yes. He voted for the 45-year development agreement, the interlocal agreement with Travis County and the annexation of about 2,614 acres. Each passed 9-0, with two members absent.

July 23: no. He voted against the ordinance creating Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 21 and the amendment to the development agreement, which passed 7-3. He also voted against the zone's financing plan and the county funding agreement, which passed 8-2. Council Members Mike Siegel and Zohaib "Zo" Qadri also voted no on some of the July items. Council Member Vanessa Fuentes was absent.

Since then. On Oct. 8 the council met in closed session on a lawsuit challenging the Dog's Head tax zone.

Other parts of his record

Attendance and votes. Our District 3 page counts 2,376 roll calls. Velásquez was absent for 62, an attendance rate of 97.4%. He voted no 18 times and was with the majority on 79.5% of divided votes.

The bonds. On Aug. 4 he was one of three no votes on moving the $295 million parks and library bond package toward the ballot, with Mayor Kirk Watson and Council Member Marc Duchen.

Items he led that passed. These include resolutions to extend and add homestead preservation districts, an encampment management dashboard, support for youth leaving foster care and a Native American and Indigenous Quality of Life Commission.

In his district on Oct. 22. An item he sponsored, an elevated walkway over Grove Boulevard, was withdrawn at the start of the meeting. Later the council approved, without objection, a change in use of about 121,156 square feet of the Country Club Creek West Greenbelt for the South Pleasant Valley Road corridor project, after a public hearing with no speakers. The Parks and Recreation Board had said it could not recommend approval without more information on community outreach, voting 8-0 to ask the council to weigh outreach and traffic concerns, per the staff memo. Parks will receive $1,368,050 in mitigation.

Money, side by side

KUT reported that Velásquez has received more than $10,000 from employees of Endeavor Real Estate Group, which will develop Dog's Head. He told KUT his "obligation is to the people of District 3." Our District 3 campaign finance page shows $503,336 raised since November 2022. The employers most often listed by his contributors are Armbrust & Brown ($25,300), Endeavor Real Estate Group ($22,711) and "Endeavor" ($19,076). His latest report, through Sept. 24, shows $21,410 raised and $96,870 on hand. Austin caps contributions at $450 per person per election. These figures sit next to his votes for context only. He voted for the project in May and against key pieces in July, and the records do not explain either vote. Challengers' filings are not on our pages.

What's next

Early voting runs through Oct. 30, and Election Day is Nov. 3. Our early voting guide covers the full city ballot.