Mayor Adler

52nd Mayor of Austin (2015-2023), Texas. Husband, dad, grandpa.

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

I’m outta here!

It’s been the privilege of a lifetime to serve as your mayor for eight years. Today I turn the reins over to your next mayor, @KirkPWatson. I wish him and his team well.

Thank you, Austin. I'm proud of what we’ve accomplished together. See you around town!

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

Hot Seat, Hot City ships Tuesday.

Austin conversations and signings:
9/8, 6:30 PM, First Light Books with Rep. Greg Casar
https://t.co/aLESKNAXaL

9/14, 7 PM, Birdhouse Books with Sarah Adler Hartman
https://t.co/1Bml3vz1g1

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

A memoir's problem: the author grades his own homework.

The book ends with words I didn't write — Rep. Casar's remarks on what you do for people who aren't in the room.

Ships 8/25: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

"If you don't run, I don't want to hear you complaining about city hall again." — my wife, Dec. 2013.

30 days later I was a candidate. Ch. 6, HOT SEAT — HOT CITY.

Ships 8/25: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

My political career began in 4th grade: class president on bigger lunches & a shorter school year. Wrote the superintendent, got a lecture on chain of command.

Chs. 2–5. Ships 8/25: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

"If you look scared, they'll be scared" — FBI advice to me during the bombings. A leader's power.

Ch. 17: officeholders who run that power in reverse — fear as a political weapon.

Ships 8/25: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

Fact-checkers found Austin's police "defunding" didn't raise crime. Correct — but we never defunded the police. The lie became the frame anyway.

Ch. 16, HOT SEAT — HOT CITY. Ships 8/25: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

The best argument against local police helping ICE raids came from my chief: it makes the city LESS safe. Victims who fear deportation don't report crimes.

Ch. 15, HOT SEAT — HOT CITY. Ships 8/25: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

Imagine Monopoly where one player can't roll until round 20. Everyone then treats him as an equal. He still loses.

No villain needed. Same rules for all. Fair game?

Ch. 14, HOT SEAT — HOT CITY. Ships 8/25: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

Bermuda shorts on bikes, or riot gear? How police show up at a protest reveals their whole theory of the job.

The wrong choice helps the agitators.

Ch. 13, HOT SEAT — HOT CITY. Ships 8/25: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

Austin's costliest election ever: fingerprints. Uber & Lyft spent $8–10M, then threatened to leave in 3 days if they lost.

They lost. They left. We built RideAustin.

Ch. 12, HOT SEAT — HOT CITY. Ships 8/25: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

July 1, 2019: Austin woke to a sea of orange tents. They'd always been there — hidden where we don't want to see.

Austin finally SAW them.

Chs. 10–11, HOT SEAT — HOT CITY. Ships 8/25: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

March 2020. My city manager: "The decision to cancel SXSW is yours alone to make."

Me: "I had no idea."

The loneliest 36 hours of my 8 years as mayor. Chapter 9 of HOT SEAT — HOT CITY.

Ships 8/25. Pre-order: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

2018: a man mutters as I pass, "Worst mayor Austin's ever had."

Both sides wanted a better Austin. Both were right. Leading meant deciding anyway.

Ch. 8, HOT SEAT — HOT CITY. Ships 8/25: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

Austin's secret isn't tacos or tech. It's risk tolerance.

8 straight years as America's fastest-growing metro — that's Ch. 7 of HOT SEAT — HOT CITY.

Ships 8/25: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

Why did @PeteButtigieg write the foreword to my book? We share a conviction: while national politics grinds down, cities are where democracy still works.

HOT SEAT — HOT CITY ships 8/25.

Pre-order: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

A serial bomber hunted Austin the week SXSW brought 400,000 people to town. That's how HOT SEAT — HOT CITY opens.

Foreword by @PeteButtigieg. Ships 8/25.

Pre-order: https://t.co/D2XD07nYMM

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

@RodmanAi Claude

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

What really comes through in the @FortuneMagazine piece on @AdamZeplain is that he really cares about people and clarity because he values both. Not sure he’ll enjoy this spotlight, but it’s well-earned. https://t.co/l4PZ93YYhZ

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

It was an honor to march with Jessie Jackson, one of thousands and thousands in which he preached “I am somebody.” This Austin march came in a troubled time - there are so many. I remember his voice.

[Mayor Adler @MayorAdler]

Ten years ago, Austin became the Kitty Hawk of driverless cars while I was serving as mayor.

I wrote about the lessons we learned—and what other cities and elected officials around the country should expect—for @CityAndStateNY.
https://t.co/IrSFpctDOj