What does Siegel's win mean?

Now that's what I call a Saturday night! On my couch, repeatedly refreshing the Travis County Clerk's election results page.

First came the early vote results, which showed Gary Bledsoe up by 87 votes.

After the first batch of Election Day votes, Bledsoe's lead grew to 143. At 8:46 p.m., veteran political consultant Mark Littlefield told me, "It's over. Bledsoe's going to win." The vibes at Waterloo on Burnet, where Bledsoe supporters were gathered, were reportedly revelrous.

Alas, heartbreak was just around the corner. At 10 pm Bledsoe's lead had dropped to 52 and Littlefield had amended his projection: "Not over," he texted me.

And then the final vote dump came in at around 10:30, putting Siegel ahead by 206 votes.

Another Casar?

There is speculation that Mike Siegel will be the next Greg Casar on Council. Like Casar, he has a coherent and bold progressive worldview. He also hails from the same organizing background, and believes in the power of grassroots political movements to push policy change.

Obviously some people do not like the prospect of another Casar on Council. There are of course conservatives or moderates who simply aren't interested in somebody who is going to push progressive populist policy, especially if it means higher taxes. And then there are those who are more sympathetic to Casar/Siegel politically but are wary of any lefty fireworks that could prompt a backlash, either from voters or the Lege.

Those who are cheering Siegel's election hope that he will provide a check on Mayor Kirk Watson's power and the conservative city bureaucracy, which most others on the dais have to a certain extent submitted to. I can tell you that even if a lot of Watson supporters were pushing hard for Siegel (due to housing policy), I would bet good money that Watson was rooting for Bledsoe.

The end of an era, but not the end of NIMBYism

My initial reaction to Siegel's win is that YIMBYs now hold 10 of 11 seats on City Council. The exception is District 10's Marc Duchen.

But it's important to remember that YIMBY and NIMBY are not political parties. They are loose concepts that describe a mindset about growth and housing.