Mayor Adler of Austin had no place to hide.
• A serial bomber terrorizes the fastest-growing U.S. city.
• A pandemic kills people and shuts down the economy.
• Homeless encampments take over parks and civic debate.
• A city is at war with itself over policing and race.
• Affordability and housing costs explode.
• A city navigates unprecedented political polarization.
From 2015 to 2023, every crisis landed on the Austin mayor’s desk—and every decision carried immediate, real-world consequences. Hot Seat—Hot City is Adler’s unflinching, first-person account of what governing actually looks like when there are no great options. Not a campaign memoir or partisan argument—this is written by someone accountable for outcomes, not rhetoric.
As national politics grows more dysfunctional, cities have become the front line of American democracy. Mayors absorb the consequences of failures they didn’t create, forced to make real-time decisions under intense public scrutiny. This is the story of mayors everywhere, and 48 U.S. mayors have put their names behind it.
This book is a clear-eyed look at what democratic leadership demands when consensus is elusive, institutions are strained, and the stakes are high.
Steve Adler served as the 52nd Mayor of Austin, Texas, from 2015 to 2023, leading one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities through a period of explosive change and extraordinary challenge. During his tenure, Austin confronted the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2018 serial bomber attacks, contentious homelessness reform, police budget battles during a national racial reckoning, and deep political polarization.
Before his election as mayor, Adler spent more than three decades practicing law specializing in trial advocacy, eminent domain, and civil rights litigation. He represented clients in courtrooms across Texas and before both the United States Supreme Court and the Texas Supreme Court.
As mayor, Adler navigated the tensions of governing a rapidly growing and progressive city within a conservative state. Under his leadership, Austin expanded affordable housing initiatives, reformed homelessness policy, implemented police accountability measures, and significantly increased long-term infrastructure investment—all while managing growth that helped transform the city from a cultural capital into a major international technology hub.
A graduate of Princeton University and the University of Texas School of Law, Adler now teaches at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, Huston-Tillotson University, and St. Edward’s University, focusing on strategic change management, public leadership, and urban politics and policy.
He lives in Austin with his wife, Diane Land. Together, they have three daughters and six grandchildren. Hot Seat – Hot City is his first book.
