’s competition for the District 1 seat on City Council is growing. Last week, two new candidates joined Grassroots Leadership activist

Natasha Harper-Madison, founder of East Austin Advocates, filed campaign treasurer paperwork on Tuesday, Jan. 9. And on Friday, Mariana Salazar, who directs research and evaluation for the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, followed suit. Harper-Madison previously ran a floral consulting business, won the Black Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award in 2014, and has worked on business planning for the Austin Justice

Coalition. Prior to ECHO, Salazar served as a program administrator and senior planner for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Before that, she worked as a planner for Travis County.

Official candidacy filing runs July 23 to Aug. 20. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6.