Biography

Council Member Leslie Pool was elected as part of the first single-member district council in 2014 to represent District 7. Reelected in 2016 and 2020, she is in her third term. 

Council Member Pool is active locally, nationally, and internationally in transformational policy development on climate adaptation, transit, and housing to create compact, connected, and resilient communities. 

She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Capital Metro Board of Directors, and in her dual role has sponsored key initiatives expanding Austin’s transit map, funding for new rail stations, a 32-mile bike and walking trail, and advocated for the successful passage of Project Connect. 

Council Member Pool has initiated and joined multiple efforts to foster more housing across income levels and is focused on relief for middle-income and working families that include homeowners and hopeful homebuyers. 

Council Member Pool’s assignments include chairing oversight committees for the City's electric and water utilities, and the interregional Balcones Canyonlands Coordinating Committee. She is vice chair of Council’s Audit & Finance Committee, vice chair of Capitol Metropolitan Transportation Authority's governing board and a member of its Finance & Audit Committee. Pool also serves as a trustee on the City Employees Retirement System board of directors.

Before becoming the elected representative for District 7, Council Member Pool served in the Travis County Constable’s Office, worked at the National Wildlife Federation, the Texas Department of Transportation, and served in the offices of Congressman Lloyd Doggett and the late U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen. 

Council Member Pool attended graduate school at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in the mid-career master’s degree program and was a member of Leadership Austin’s class of 1998-1999. She has been a member of a variety of community groups and worked on a wide array of civic issues since 1980 when Austin became her home. 

Leslie and Will Grover live in the Rosedale neighborhood. Her daughter, Emily, lives in New York City.