TFRW Woman of Distinction – October 2021
A member of Capitol Republican Women, Mackenzie Kelly was elected to serve the people of Austin as the sole Republican voice on the City Council. She represents District 6, the largest district in the city and a diverse and growing area. An Austin native, volunteer firefighter, police advocate, and health care worker, she has embraced a lifetime of public service.
Before being elected to City Council, Kelly served at the Round Rock Fire Department Training Division, Williamson County Emergency Management and with the City of Austin Community Emergency Response Team. In 2019, she was elected president of the 100th class of the Austin Police Department’s Citizen Police Academy. Her close working relationship with APD gives her a rare perspective on local law enforcement and why it must be passionately supported and fully funded.
Serving Austin’s elderly population is another passion of Kelly’s. She worked in home health care for several years, and served as an appointee by then-Governor Rick Perry to the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities. She is an advocate of good geographic representation, and ran in the first City Council election under the 10-1 plan in 2014. She defeated the incumbent on the City Council in a runoff election for a four-year term in December 2020, and began her service on the council on January 6, 2021.
As for her greatest accomplishment, Mackenzie is happily married with an inquisitive daughter, Rebekah, a student in the Round Rock Independent School District.
