There is a brand-new coalition in Austin to go with our brand-new city government. The group, Austin for All, is a coalition that has formed in order to show “united support for policies that will improve our city.”
Members described their mission: ”We envision a diverse community that is racially, socially and economically inclusive and on in which all Austinites have access to: living wages; safe working environments; affordable housing; a healthy environment; access to quality public services; and transportation that serves the needs of our community.”
Austin for All held two candidate briefings this past week that allowed its participating organizations to present their missions and specific concerns at the city level. After the presentations, candidates and coalition members spoke informally.
Austin For All’s participating organizations are: Clean Water Action, Accessible Housing Austin, ADAPT of Texas, AFSCME, Austin Interfaith, Sierra Club, Public Citizen, Grassroots Leadership, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, Central Labor Council, Texas Campaign for the Environment, Communication Workers of America and the Workers Defense Project.
The candidate briefings, which were held Thursday evening and Saturday morning, saw 33 candidates in all, which makes up about half of the current total. All of the districts were represented.
In attendance were mayoral candidates Steve Adler, Sheryl Cole, Mike Martinez, and Randall Stephens; District 1 candidates DeWayne Lofton, Valerie Menard, Andrew Bucknall and Ora Houston; District 2 candidate Delia Garza; District 3 candidates Susana Almanza, Shaun Ireland, Ricardo Turullois-Bonilla, Fred McGhee and Eric Rangel; District 4 candidates Gregorio Casar, Louis Herrin, Sharon Mays, Katrina Daniel and Monica Guzman; District 5 candidates Jason Denny, Ann Kitchen and Dan Buda; District 6 candidates Pete Phillips, Matt Stillwell and Jimmy Flannigan; District 7 candidates Jeb Boyt and Ed English, District 8 candidates Ed Scruggs and Eliza May, District 9 candidates Chris Riley and Kathie Tovo; and District 10 candidates Tina Cannon, Jason Meeker and Mandy Dealey.
Though some of Austin for All’s members are endorsing organizations, no endorsements were made during the events.
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Austin City Council November 2014 Elections: The November 2014 Austin City Council elections marked a shift from an all-at-large City Council to one elected based mostly on geographic districts. The city's Mayor remains elected at-large.
