Kirk Watson

Kirk Preston Watson is an American attorney and politician serving as the 54th and 59th mayor of Austin, Texas, serving from 1997 to 2001, and again since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he ran unsuccessfully for Texas Attorney General in the 2002 election, when he was defeated by Republican Greg Abbott, later governor of Texas. In 2006, Watson was elected to the Texas Senate from District 14. In 2011, Watson was chosen by his Democratic colleagues to chair the Senate Democratic Caucus and served until 2015. On the first day of the 86th Legislature, he was chosen by his colleagues—Democrats and Republicans—to serve as president pro tempore. The position typically goes to the most senior member, regardless of party, who has not yet served as President Pro Tem, and is second in line of succession to the Governor. It was announced by the Austin American-Statesman that Watson planned to resign from the Texas State Senate to become the first dean of the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs. His resignation was effective April 30, 2020. With incumbent Mayor Steve Adler not seeking another term, Watson entered the race to become Austin mayor for a second time. He was elected for his second stint as mayor in the 2022 Austin mayoral election runoff with 50.4% of the vote. Early life and education Watson was born in Oklahoma City and raised in Saginaw, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, where he attended Boswell High School. He received a bachelor's degree in political science in 1980 and a Juris Doctor in 1981 from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. At Baylor Law School, Watson was editor-in-chief of the Baylor Law Review and graduated first in his class. He subsequently clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.