Former Austin Mayor Steve Adler says leading one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities taught him that local governments are increasingly responsible for confronting problems created — or neglected — at the state and federal levels.
Adler, who served as mayor from 2015 through 2023, discussed those lessons during an interview with Texas Public Radio’s Texas Matters.
His new memoir, "Hot Seat—Hot City: The Austin Mayor’s Story," examines a period of rapid growth, rising housing costs, expanding homelessness and repeated conflicts with Texas Republican leaders.
During Adler’s tenure, the Austin metropolitan area grew by nearly 20%. The expansion generated jobs and wealth, but housing and infrastructure failed to keep pace. Higher rents displaced residents and contributed to a growing and increasingly visible homeless population.
Austin’s response became one of Adler’s most divisive battles. In 2019, the City Council loosened restrictions on sitting, lying and camping in public. Adler argued that arrests and citations did not address the causes of homelessness. Critics said the change allowed encampments to spread and made public spaces less safe.
Austin voters reinstated the restrictions in 2021, and the Republican-controlled Legislature approved a statewide camping ban. Adler acknowledged that Austin did not initially have enough shelter beds, permanent housing or services to support its approach.
The dispute reflected a larger struggle between progressive cities and conservative state governments. Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas lawmakers have overridden Austin policies involving homelessness, employment rules, policing and city budgets.
Republicans maintain that state intervention protects public safety and prevents inconsistent or harmful local policies. Adler argues that state leaders frequently targeted Austin for political advantage and weakened the ability of residents to govern their own community.
The conflict became especially stark after Abbott pardoned Daniel Perry, who was convicted of murdering Garrett Foster during a 2020 racial-justice protest in Austin. Foster was openly carrying a rifle when Perry drove into the crowd and fatally shot him. Perry claimed self-defense, but a jury convicted him in 2023. Abbott issued a full pardon the following year.
For Adler, overturning the consequences of a jury’s verdict illustrates how partisan power can erode confidence in democratic institutions.
Those concerns now extend to the 2026 midterm elections. President Donald Trump has continued making unsupported claims about widespread election fraud and has said Republicans should “take over the voting.” His administration has also sought greater federal involvement in voter lists and mail-ballot rules.
Federal courts have blocked significant portions of that effort, finding that the Constitution assigns election administration primarily to states and Congress — not the president.
Adler argues that mayors must be prepared to defend election workers, communicate verified information and resist attempts to intimidate local officials or seize election materials without lawful authority. Mayors generally do not count ballots themselves —those duties usually belong to county or municipal election administrators — but they can use their offices to defend the process and preserve public trust.
If national institutions falter, Adler said, cities may become democracy’s “lifeboats”: places where transparent government, free elections and respect for lawful outcomes can still be protected from the ground up.
