Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Todd Shaw
Todd Shaw ran for election to the Austin City Council to represent District 7 in Texas. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Shaw completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Todd Shaw was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina. He earned a high school diploma from Irvin High School in El Paso, Texas and a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1986. His career experience includes working as an environmental engineer. He is a certified Project Manager Professional.[1]
Shaw has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1]
- International District Energy Association, current member
- City of Austin Planning Commission, former chair
- Allandale Neighborhood Association, former board member and zoning chair
McCallum High School Orchestra Booster Club, former member
Elections
2024
See also: City elections in Austin, Texas (2024)
General runoff election
General runoff election for Austin City Council District 7
Mike Siegel defeated Gary Bledsoe in the general runoff election for Austin City Council District 7 on December 14, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mike Siegel (Nonpartisan)  | 51.2 | 4,420 |
 | Gary Bledsoe (Nonpartisan) | 48.8 | 4,211 | |
| Total votes: 8,631 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
General election for Austin City Council District 7
The following candidates ran in the general election for Austin City Council District 7 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Siegel (Nonpartisan) | 39.8 | 13,681 |
| ✔ | | Gary Bledsoe (Nonpartisan) | 19.3 | 6,624 |
 | Pierre Nguyen (Nonpartisan) | 14.9 | 5,110 | |
 | Adam Powell (Nonpartisan) | 11.1 | 3,828 | |
 | Todd Shaw (Nonpartisan) | 8.7 | 2,973 | |
 | Edwin Bautista (Nonpartisan) | 6.2 | 2,135 | |
| Total votes: 34,351 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Daniel Dominguez (Nonpartisan)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Shaw in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Todd Shaw completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Shaw's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
With my 30 years of public service as a leader and environmental engineer at Austin Energy, the city-owned electric utility, I dedicated my career to cleaning our air and water, while fighting climate change.
I decided to run for City Council while serving on the City’s Planning Commission. I started in 2018 when Austin was updating its 1984 land development code: a very contentious time. I wanted to chair the commission to create an environment where commissioners would listen to each other and seek understanding to solve controversial zoning and planning cases. I decided to bring the same team-oriented energy and collaborative leadership to the Council.- To meet the complex challenges of rising global temperatures, District 7 needs representation from someone who has actual experience improving our environment and fighting climate change. With my 30 years of public service managing city environmental departments and multi-million dollar clean energy construction projects, I am the only candidate competent to work with community members in deciding how to spend our limited resources to meet our “Zero Carbon” goals while preparing our city for the increased risk of droughts, floods, and fires. I don’t just talk about protecting the environment; I take action.
- Recent pro-housing code changes were approved by Council, but more is needed. If elected, I will support a complete overhaul our obsolete 1984 land development code, but this time, in a way that gains a supermajority of council votes and broad community support. The new code should prioritize density, particularly missing middle housing, which aligns with our Strategic Mobility Plan and Project Connect. Additionally, the code changes must prepare our infrastructure for the effects of density combined with climate change, establish density bonuses that maximize affordable housing for those with lower family incomes, and include measures to minimize gentrification in the Eastern Crescent.
- Access to parkland and the natural environment is crucial for the well-being of our communities. With more people, we need more places to play. I fought for additional parkland in the Grove PUD, and as a Planning Commissioner, I consistently pushed for adequate parkland when zoning large multifamily developments in neighborhoods that lacked parks. The last State Legislature passed HB1526, which gutted Austin’s Parkland Dedication Ordinance. This law will lead to a 100-acre deficit in the park system by 2030 and increase the financial burden of maintaining our park system on taxpayers. I will work with fellow councilmembers to ensure all Austinites have safe spaces to play and connect with nature.
I am a huge fan of Austin’s music culture and want to do more to preserve our reputation as the “Live Music Capital of the World.” I will champion increased funding and code changes to support our musicians and music venues.
Building relationships, even with those you disagree with, is of utmost importance. The current partisan gridlock is a result of the lack of courage and ability of elected officials to reach across the aisle. A true leader will build teams with diverse opinions, understanding that the best solutions emerge from groups that challenge each other in a positive way.
Constituents must trust their elected officials, which is based on the elected official being competent and having the ability to think critically. The issues facing large cities are increasingly complicated, and council members will hear different opinions on many different issues. Council members must be able to research, problem solve, and think critically to maintain the trust of their constituents. This includes having financial acumen in making budget and funding decisions, ensuring the responsible use of public funds. Finally, elected officials must be able to admit when they were wrong.
Council members can't know everything, but they should demonstrate that they have mastered some area of expertise that brings value to the overall body.
Each city department must have performance goals related to its essential functions and how it spends public funds. This is the only way to determine measures for improvement and accountability.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Austin City Council District 7 |
Personal |
Footnotes
| |||||||||
