Selena Xie wins District 8 and Zo Qadri wins a second term in District 9. Here is what waits for them in January

Two Austin council seats were settled Tuesday night. Selena Xie won the open District 8 seat in West and Southwest Austin, and Council Member Zohaib "Zo" Qadri won reelection in District 9, according to unofficial results. Both take office in January, when the council starts its 2027 term.

District 8: Xie

Xie had 22,227 votes, or 64.36%, to Jeffery Bowen's 12,311, KXAN reported, which projected her win. KUT, in a story updated at 8:14 a.m. Wednesday, reported 34,281 votes for the seat in Travis County and 257 in Hays County, which together match KXAN's totals.

"I'm so proud, humbled, and honored to be the next Austin City Council Member for District 8," Xie said, according to KUT.

Xie is a commander with Austin-Travis County EMS and a former president of the Austin EMS Association. During the campaign she supported the parks and library bonds and proposed expanding the city's audit team, KUT reported. Bowen opposed the bonds, citing about $700 million in deferred parks maintenance.

The seat opened because Council Member Paige Ellis did not make the ballot. Her petition for a third term came up 62 valid signatures short, KUT reported.

District 9: Qadri

Qadri had 51.4% of the vote, ahead of Rich Heyman at 24.7% and Katie Kam at 17.5%, Axios Austin reported. Community Impact, in a story updated at 7:56 a.m., had him at just over 51%, down from 53% in early votes. KXAN projected his win. Kai Huang and Dave Thadani were also on the ballot.

His share is close to the 50% line, so the canvass count matters. Late mail ballots and approved provisional ballots will still be added. None of the outlets we reviewed reported a change in the outcome as of Wednesday morning.

What our records add

What Ellis leaves for Xie. Our District 8 page shows Ellis missed two of 2,371 roll calls and was with the majority on 93.2% of divided votes. Items she led that passed include a request for a full environmental study of MoPac South, rules on electric dirt bikes and a resolution starting "missing middle" housing changes. District 8 also has the Ullrich Water Treatment Plant, where the council approved up to $89.7 million in October to move away from chlorine gas, and much of the wildfire risk covered in the city's new wildfire protection plan.

What the bond means for District 8. Xie cited pool repairs, Zilker Park and the Hampton Branch Library at Oak Hill as reasons to back the bonds, KUT reported. The library proposition includes about $20 million to renovate and expand that branch, according to KUT's October summary. Ellis co-sponsored the May resolution that started the bond package.

Qadri's record. Our District 9 page lists his sponsored items, including a resolution on unbundling parking from housing costs and a right-of-way fee waiver for The Bloom at Lamar Square, a 100-unit deeply affordable development. On Aug. 4 he was among the eight yes votes to send the bonds toward the ballot. He opposed Prop I, which voters rejected. On July 30 he moved approval of the amendment that became Prop G, which limits citizen-petition elections to November of even-numbered years. Voters approved it with about 64%.

Money. Our District 9 campaign finance page tracks Qadri's filings. Our pages cover sitting members only, so Xie's are not included until she takes office.

What waits in January

• The first meeting. The draft 2027 calendar lists the first regular meeting on Jan. 6, with Jan. 7, 14 and 21 cancelled. Check the city's calendar for final dates.
• Committee assignments. New members are assigned to committees after they take office.
• Holdover items. Several large items, including the Muny agreement with UT, are scheduled before then. Our post-election calendar lists them.
• Three more seats. Runoffs on Dec. 12 decide Districts 1, 3 and 5. Our results roundup has the latest numbers.