Equity Action announces long list of supporters

Equity Action, the group that gathered signatures to put the original Austin Police Oversight Act on the May ballot, unveiled a list Tuesday of more than 100 community organizations and local leaders who endorse the APOA. The list includes Mayor Kirk Watson, former Mayor Steve Adler, and seven current City Council members including Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis and Council members Natasha Harper-Madison, Vanessa Fuentes, José Velásquez, Chito Vela, Ryan Alter and Zo Qadri. Former Council Member Ann Kitchen and former state Rep. Celia Israel also support the original oversight act.

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar and state Reps. Sheryl Cole, Vikki Goodwin, Donna Howard, James Talarico and Lulu Flores, as well as Austin ISD trustees Kevin Foster and Andrew Gonzales and former trustee Ann Teich are also on the list of supporters, along with Del Valle ISD trustee Susanna Ledesma-Woody and former Travis County sheriff and city of Austin police monitor Margo Frasier.

Equity Action also unveiled its website, Yes on A, No on B, which provides the names of more than 30 organizations supporting the proposition, which will appear as Proposition A on the May 6 ballot. Those organizations include the Travis County Democratic Party, NAACP Austin, Public Citizen, the Austin Justice Coalition, Texas Fair Defense Project, PODER, and a lengthy list of other groups.

A competing proposition known by the same name as the APOA will appear as Proposition B. The petition to put that item on the ballot was funded primarily by the Austin Police Association PAC.

Supporters of Prop A point out that the second proposition would eliminate anonymous complaints and prevent a city-sponsored civilian oversight group from having access to important information about complaints. They say the civilian oversight group would not be able to actively participate in classifying or investigating complaints.

Save Austin Now, the group that promoted reinstatement of Austin’s public camping ban, is opposed to Proposition A. It posted the following statement on its Facebook page: “Oppose radical ‘police oversight’ ordinance on the ballot in May which violates state law and will destroy the ability of APD leadership to be successful.”

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