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Joshua Fechter is the Dallas-based urban affairs reporter for The Texas Tribune, covering policy — including housing affordability, housing and property taxes, evictions, policing and transportation — and politics in Texas' major metropolitan areas. Before joining the Tribune in August 2021, Joshua covered City Hall for the San Antonio Express-News. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker face little opposition in their reelection bids. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson doesn’t have any challengers. Full Story
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Abbott’s spending proposals also include spending $750 million on school safety and mental health services and expanding postpartum Medicaid to a year. Full Story
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Spencer Cronk, who headed the city since 2018, fell out of favor with council members after communication failures that mirrored problems from the 2021 winter storm. Full Story
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As newly elected Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and a City Council with an array of fresh faces review their first major crisis, the city’s top officials once again find themselves trying to figure out why the city botched its response to a significant weather event. Full Story
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Austin City Council members will evaluate Spencer Cronk’s employment during their Thursday meeting. Cronk was hired in 2017. Full Story
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Experts say local governments should prioritize extreme weather preparedness. Cost can be a deterring factor. Full Story
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Republicans are wrestling over how much of the state’s nearly $33 billion budget surplus to spend on property taxes. Democrats have their own ideas about what to do with the cash. Full Story
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The former state senator, returning for a second term as Austin’s mayor, spoke at a Texas Tribune event about how he can help reframe the conversation on affordability and the city’s relationship with state leadership. Full Story
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Watson, a former state senator who was Austin’s mayor from 1997 to 2001, pitched himself as a back-to-basics candidate who could ease the city’s growing affordability crisis. Full Story
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The capital city’s mayoral race is something of a test case in how the state’s rising housing costs might influence local races in major cities. Full Story
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