In May 2013, he was appointed to the editorial board of the Cherokee Phoenix on which he served until November 2014.
[1][2] In 2015, Austin ran against William "Bill" Pearson for the 14th District of the Cherokee Nation tribal council seat in a race to succeed Lee Keener.
[3] In June, Pearson won the initial general election by one vote, leading Austin to file for a recount.
[4] After the recount, both candidates vote totals decreased, and Pearson maintained a 6-vote lead.
[5] In July, Austin appealed to the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court arguing "14 votes were cast and shouldn't have been, three were rejected that should have been accepted and two ballots were lost.