In rare move, Council delays decision on nominee’s appointment to the parks board

For the second time in less than a year, community member Ted Eubanks faced opposition to his nomination to the city’s Parks and Recreation Board.

Eubanks, a 40-year parks professional who specializes in heritage and nature tourism, was one of more than 30 nominees on a list awaiting City Council approval Thursday to serve on one of the city’s various boards and commissions. 

Approval of the nominees list is typically a perfunctory vote without comment, but on a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, Council approved all the nominees except for Eubanks, delaying a decision on his appointment for two weeks.

Fuentes said she wanted time to address some concerns that had been brought to her attention. She explained further in a statement to the Austin Monitor, “After receiving some late questions about this appointment, I wanted to be sure to speak with community members, the applicant, and my colleagues before moving forward. This pause gives us that chance, and I appreciate my colleagues for their consideration.” 

Council Member Marc Duchen, who nominated Eubanks, objected to the delay and suggested allowing his nominee, who was seated in the audience, to address the concerns and possibly avoid a postponement on the appointment. Mayor Kirk Watson responded that there wasn’t a process in place to allow for questioning nominees during Council meetings.

Duchen pressed again. Eubanks, he said, “has tremendous experience in this space, working across the country.” He asked that the Council respect Eubanks’ experience and vote on his merit. Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison said she was supportive of Eubanks’ appointment, but did not see a problem with allowing Fuentes more time to consider.

Eubanks was an outspoken opponent of the scrapped Zilker Vision Plan, a proposal that sharply divided the community, with many fearing commercialization of the city’s most popular park. Eubanks has also called for more financial transparency of some nonprofits that have partnerships with the Parks and Recreation Department. 

In April 2024, former Council Member Mackenzie Kelly faced similar challenges when she nominated Eubanks to the parks board. She ultimately withdrew his nomination at the last minute.

Given last year’s turn of events, Eubanks said he wasn’t surprised by Thursday’s action.

“I wasn’t surprised because they’ve done it before, but I was disappointed in the sense that this fiasco continues,” he told the Monitor by phone. He said there are a handful of parks nonprofits whose representatives don’t relish the idea of him serving on the parks board.

“Over the years I have certainly had opinions and concerns at times about how Austin manages its public lands, and that is unacceptable to a handful of organizations.” He said his reading of the city charter holds that the purpose of boards and commissions is to provide diverse opinions and perspectives for the Council to consider. “If there’s a litmus test for being on the parks board, what is it?”

While it’s rare for the Council to challenge a member’s nominee, Duchen and Kelly are not the first Council members to encounter such a problem. In 2015, former Council Member Don Zimmerman was unsuccessful in appointing a social justice activist to the Public Safety Commission and faced questions about the eligibility of another nominee to the Women’s Commission. That nominee – Mackenzie Kelly – eventually won Council approval.

Photo by Larry D. Moore, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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