Steven Rivas

Sean and I have watched Kathie Tovo stand with Austin’s q***r community and LGBTQIA2S+ Texans for years, not just when it was easy, but when it mattered most.

From helping create the City of Austin LGBTQ Quality of Life Commission to advancing the rainbow crosswalk at 4th & Colorado in the heart of Bettie Naylor Street, Kathie’s leadership helped make Austin more welcoming, visible, and inclusive.

To Sean and me, this has never been about letters or politics. It’s about people. Friends. Neighbors. Families. Texans who deserve the freedom to live openly, safely, and fully as themselves.

Kathie has never backed down from that fight. She is among the most winningest women elected leaders in Austin and Texas history, and HD 49 needs her experience, compassion, and proven leadership at the Capitol.

Early voting begins Monday, May 18, and runs through Friday, May 22. Election Day is Tuesday, May 26.

Join us in voting for Kathie Tovo for State Representative Texas House District 49.

I’m incredibly honored to have earned the endorsement of Stonewall Democrats! Session after session, the Republican legislature attacks the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, and I will fight to stop any bills that continue this onslaught if I’m elected to represent District 49.

As a City Council Member, I initiated legislation to create an anti-discrimination, harassment, and retaliation policy for city employees. I advocated for expanded access to PReP, introduced policy that expanded mobile healthcare screening, and served on the Hate Crimes Task Force. I passed legislation that created the LGBTQIA+ Commission, eliminated gender-distinctions on single-occupancy restrooms, improved training for police cadets interacting with transgender and non-binary Austinites, required companies receiving city incentives to provide domestic partner benefits, and ensured insurance coverage for gender-affirming care. When an earlier Council initiative to create rainbow crosswalks stalled, I collaborated with city staff and community advocates in 2021 to get it done.

I’ve been a Stonewall member for years. And I’ve shown up—at Pride Parades and vigils; rallies and events; at celebrations for community resources like the Kind Clinic and AIDS Services of Austin dental clinic.

I was honored to be Ally Grand Marshal in the 2022 Pride Parade, and I’ll continue to be a strong ally at the Capitol: I’m tough. I’m tested. I work hard, and I don’t back down.

Sexual assault survivors deserve compassionate, trauma-informed care the moment they reach out for help.

Thank you to Mayor Kirk Watson, Ascension, Baylor Scott & White Health, St. David's HealthCare, SAFE Alliance, Brave Alliance, forensic nurses, advocates, and our community partners for working together to ensure SANE exams and survivor support services continue in Austin during this transition.

SAFE Alliance has spent years standing beside survivors during some of the hardest moments of their lives, and that advocacy continues. Brave Alliance is stepping up to help ensure forensic nursing care remains available across Central Texas.

As the City of Austin begins budget planning, we must continue supporting the nonprofits, healthcare systems, and victim service programs that survivors and vulnerable Austinites depend on every day. 💜

Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Louisiana v. Callais marks a serious setback for the protections long guaranteed under the Voting Rights Act.

For decades, that law has helped ensure that Black, Latino, AANHPI, and Native American communities have a fair shot at representation. It was never about advantage. It was about access. It was about making sure every voice counts.

Now, that foundation is weakened. And the responsibility shifts to state leaders, courts, and communities across the country.

We know what happens when lines are drawn to dilute voices instead of reflect them. We’ve seen it in Texas and across the South. Communities get split. Representation gets blurred. Trust erodes.

But we also know this: people organize. Communities respond. And the arc of this work has always depended on those willing to stand up and stay in it.

This moment calls for clarity and resolve. Protecting fair representation is not a partisan issue. It is fundamental to a functioning democracy.

Austinites understand that. Texans understand that. And across this country, people will continue to speak out, organize, and push for maps and systems that reflect the full strength and diversity of who we are.

Let's meet this moment together. Take action: volunteer, donate, register to vote, register others to vote. Your vote is your voice! Su voto es su voz! ✊🏽🗳️

Take Action — Texas Democratic Party THIS IS OUR TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PARTYTake Action Right Now VOLUNTEER VOLUNTEER EVENTS EVENTS The Texas Democratic Party is powered by Texans who are committed to changing our state. From hosting events to running for office to getting folks out to vote, there is a way for you to get involved with our P...

Austin is at its best when leaders show up and deliver for the people who make this city what it is.

Council Member Ryan Alter has done exactly that.

As a Latino who’s spent two decades working across communities here, I pay attention to who follows through. Ryan has been a steady partner for Austin’s Latino community and a strong advocate for LGBTQIA2S+ quality of life, including funding for HIV, STI, and Mpox prevention and support for a future 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ cultural center.

Ryan is also focused on strengthening the historic Bettie Naylor district and making sure small businesses downtown have the support and safety they need to thrive.

That kind of leadership matters right now.

I’m proud to serve as a co-host for a breakfast supporting his reelection:

Tuesday, April 14, 2026
8:00–9:30 AM
Juan in a Million
2300 E. Cesar Chavez St.

RSVP: [email protected]

Join us. Let’s keep moving Austin forward!

Today is Transgender Day of Visibility 🏳️‍⚧️

Visibility matters because silence has never protected anyone.

Trans Texans are our neighbors, our friends, our family. They deserve to live openly and safely.

Texas is home to the 2nd-largest transgender population in the country. And transgender people are more than 4x as likely to experience violent crime.

This is about dignity and who we choose to stand with.

Austin has long been a place where people can be themselves and be welcomed for it. That identity matters. It is part of who we are.

This is a moment to continue that tradition and show up for our LGBTQIA2S+ Austinites.

Right now, $800,000 for HIV, STI, and Mpox prevention is still missing from the budget.

This is something we can fix together.

Please tell the Mayor & Council Members: Restore $800k for lifesaving HIV, STI, and Mpox programs in Austin’s upcoming budget.

All Council Members | AustinTexas.gov

Dustin Burrows just put out his priority list for Texas.

And one item stands out.

A study on whether Texas should annex counties from New Mexico.

That’s on the list.

At a time when Texans are dealing with real pressures in their daily lives.

Since 2021, Texas has spent billions of dollars on border operations.

Meanwhile, our public schools are under strain.

Teachers are leaving. Districts are cutting budgets and closing campuses. Families are being asked to do more with less.

Higher education is feeling pressure as well, with shifting enrollment patterns and growing financial strain in some programs.

And instead of focusing on those realities, we’re studying whether to redraw the state line.

Here is what that would actually take:

1. Voters in those New Mexico counties would have to approve leaving their state.

2. New Mexico’s government would have to agree to give up that land.

3. Texas would have to approve taking it.

4. Congress would have to sign off.

That is not a near-term outcome.

That’s not governing. That’s a sideshow.

Texans are not asking for any of that.

They’re asking for schools that work. Costs they can manage. Leadership that understands what 2026 actually looks like.

We are about 29 weeks out from early voting. Let’s elect Democrats up-and-down the ballot in November!

Tonight, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what the last day has been like.

We knew something serious had happened. The cancellations, the quiet conversations, the sense that something was coming. But reading it was different. It’s been hard. For those of us in politics, labor, education, and advocacy, it’s been painful.

I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside some of the best journalists covering Texas. This took years to report. Manny Fernandez and his colleagues at The New York Times followed a tip dating back to 2021 and did the work to get it right.

To them, I say what I’ve always said to journalists: thank you for your journalism.

What they uncovered is painful. There’s no way around that.

I keep thinking about the young women and girls who were harmed. They matter. Their stories matter. They deserve to be heard, believed, and supported.

And I’m thinking about my own family. My parents, now in their mid 70s, who picked cotton in West Texas alongside my aunts, uncles, and grandparents. The labor movement wasn’t abstract for them. It meant safer conditions, dignity in the fields, and a chance at something better.

Both things are true. The movement mattered. And the harm matters.

Over the last day, I’ve seen organizers, activists, and elected officials stand shoulder to shoulder, making it clear that the movement is bigger than any one person. That matters.

Here in Austin, we shouldn’t go backward. We shouldn’t return to street and park names that carry no meaning for our community. We should move forward and honor people who reflect our values. I support recognizing Dolores Huerta, or others our community can unite behind, and lifting up leaders like Gustavo L. “Gus” García, who helped shape this city.

I don’t have all the answers tonight.

But I know this. Austinites show up for people. We tell the truth. And we do right by each other.

CapMetro isn’t safe. Austin needs to face that honestly.

Today two people were hospitalized after a violent assault on a CapMetro bus on South Lamar. This follows a fatal stabbing on a CapMetro bus last year and other serious assaults across our transit system.

The numbers reinforce what many riders and operators already know. According to the Federal Transit Administration, CapMetro recorded 170 safety and security incidents in 2024, about 6.45 incidents per million trips. Public transit should be one of the safest ways to get around our city.

Safety on transit reflects the health of the community around it.

Right now the City of Austin is considering major reductions to social service contracts that support public health and crisis response. When people cannot access help, the consequences do not disappear. They show up across a city.

I’m fighting to secure nearly $1 million for HIV, STI, and mpox prevention and response because prevention and public health services protect communities. That funding was lost in the current budget after it was tied to the failed tax rate election.

Hard-working Austinites pay taxes expecting their city government to protect the community, support neighbors in crisis, and ensure our public safety professionals have the tools they need to do their jobs and return home safely to their families.

Austin can do better.

CapMetro, the City of Austin Government, APD, public health leaders, and community organizations should come together now to strengthen safety across the system. Protect riders. Support the services people rely on. Invest in the public health and community programs that help prevent crises before they happen.

Austinites deserve a city that keeps people safe, cares for neighbors who need help, and works together to solve problems before they become tragedies.

We mourn the lives of Savitha Shan, Ryder Harrington, and Jorge Pederson. Our hearts are with their families. Their lives mattered, and they will not be forgotten.

In moments like this, a city reveals its character. Dispatchers and call takers were the first first responders, steady voices guiding help where it was needed most. Officers moved toward danger. Medics and firefighters worked with calm precision. Hospital teams stood ready. Their training and coordination saved lives.

This violence struck just blocks from places where friends & neighbors come together, including a well known LGBTQIA+ venue. These spaces are part of our community’s lifeblood. They must remain places where every person feels safe.

Each of us has a role in protecting our community. If you see something that concerns you, speak up. In an emergency, call or text 911. And let there be no doubt that hate in Travis County will be investigated and prosecuted under the law.

Sean and I are lifting up the families who are grieving and holding them close with love and comfort. We invite you to stand with them, to support businesses along West Sixth, and to show up for one another with courage and compassion.

Austin does not retreat in fear. We move forward together, united in hope and resolve.

Earlier today, in the chambers of Austin City Hall, I attended parliamentary procedure training.

It was ordinary on its face. Agendas. Motions. Amendments. References to the Texas Open Meetings Act and the Public Information Act.

But for me, it was something else.

It was a return.

There was a time when I was a Cub Scout sitting in the back row of a City Council meeting. I had come for a merit badge. I stayed for the democracy.

I didn’t leave after the Pledge of Allegiance. I stayed until adjournment. I kept a quarter in my pocket so I could use the payphone to call my dad when it was over.

I was a young Latino gay kid in West Texas. I did not yet see myself at the dais. But I saw the rules. I saw the order. I saw the quiet promise that government could belong to everyone if the process was honored.

Those laws mattered.

The Open Meetings Act, born in an earlier era, insisted that the people could watch. The Public Information Act required that the people could know.

Years later, my friend Jim Mattox would help shape how those laws were enforced. As Attorney General, he strengthened their reach through the formal opinions that guide public access across Texas. He believed transparency was not a slogan, but a responsibility.

Democracy is not sustained only by sweeping speeches or historic votes.

It is sustained in meeting rooms. In procedure. In the patient work of learning the rules and respecting them.

Today, as the appointed District 3 Commissioner on the LGBTQ Quality of Life Commission and Chair of the Mayor’s Public Spaces Task Force, I still feel that same sense of awe.

For some of us, public service began quietly.

With a quarter in our pocket.

And the decision to stay until the end.

Texas has a long tradition of students speaking up when institutions fail them.

In 1970, students in Uvalde walked out to protest discrimination and unequal schools. That is Texas history.

The Supreme Court has been clear since Tinker v. Des Moines. Students retain free speech rights at school. Peaceful protest is protected.

Threats from state leaders do not erase either our history or the Constitution.