Will Wynn - Mayor of Austin

Mayor of Austin

Austin voters elected Wynn to be Austin's fiftieth mayor on May 3, 2003, replacing Gus Garcia. He was re-elected three years later on May 15, 2006 with over 78 percent of the vote. The front-runner from the start, Wynn garnered most of the endorsements and raised much more money than his two competitors, Council Member Danny Thomas, and Jennifer Gale. He also received a boost from the strong leadership credited to him when Hurricane Katrina evacuees came to Austin in 2005.

As Austin Mayor, Will Wynn served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Austin Energy, the 9th largest public power utility in the United States. As such, Mayor Wynn presided over the nation's most successful utility-sponsored green power program (for the 4th consecutive year according to the U.S. Dep't of Energy), an award-winning energy efficiency program that has eliminated the need for a 500-megawatt, coal-burning power plant near Austin, and a greenbuilding program that was the first of its kind in the world and served as the genesis for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the national greenbuilding movement. Austin Energy has assets of over $3.5 billion, annual revenues of $1.2 billion, almost 1,500 employees and generates up to 3,000 megawatts of electricity. Its fuel mix is 35% natural gas, 29% coal, 23% nuclear and 11% renewables (mostly wind).

Wynn was succeeded as mayor by Lee Leffingwell, who was sworn in on June 22, 2009.