City Council District 7 candidate Mike Siegel has announced that his campaign has more cash on hand than all the other D7 candidates combined. He reported his cash on hand at $43,453.17 in his filing on Monday. The D7 race is crowded, with six candidates vying for the spot Council Member Leslie Pool is vacating. […]
Jo Clifton
Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor.
Posted inElections
Watson leads in fundraising among mayoral candidates
Mayor Kirk Watson leads all other candidates for mayor in terms of contributions received and political expenditures, according to reports filed Monday with the city clerk’s office. His Oct. 7 report shows that the mayor raised more than $216,000 over the most recent period, which started in mid-July. Watson reported raising more than $710,000 on […]
Posted inWhispers
Alison Alter endorses Tovo for mayor
Council Member Alison Alter announced via email Tuesday that she is endorsing her former colleague on the dais, Kathie Tovo, for mayor. “I served with Kathie for six years on the Austin City Council and I know that for Kathie public service is a true calling. She will be a mayor for all of Austin,” […]
Posted inWhispers
Doggett speaking to Sierra Club tonight
Austin Congressman Lloyd Doggett, who has represented the Austin area for nearly 30 years, will talk about environmental issues and update the Austin Sierra Club on issues before Congress at the group’s meeting Wednesday night. The group will meet at El Mercado South, 1302 South First St,, beginning with food and drinks at 6 p.m. […]
Posted inWhispers
TreeFolks to honor Neely
Stalwart environmentalist Mary Ann Neely, who has served on the boards of a variety of environmental organizations and worked for environmental causes for more than a quarter of a century, will be receiving a lifetime achievement award from TreeFolks. In addition to advocating for the environment with TreeFolks, Neely was a member of the city’s […]
Posted inZoning
Revised Thornton Road rezoning gets first reading approval
After a surprise change in the requested zoning, City Council approved on first reading a much smaller zoning change for a 4-acre site on Thornton Road in South Austin. The property sits in District 5, and Council Member Ryan Alter played a major role in putting together a different zoning plan than what the property […]
Posted inWhispers
Aquifer district declares critical drought
On Thursday, the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District officially declared Stage III Critical Drought. Restrictions based on the declaration will take effect Nov. 1. The district reports that the Lovelady monitor well, one of two drought stage determinants for the district, had reached a 10-day average of 462.6 feet above mean sea level. The threshold […]
Posted inZoning
Rezoning of the Herb Bar is in question as it advances
The Herb Bar, which sits at the corner of West Mary and Eva streets in the Bouldin neighborhood, has been offering herbs and spices, plus a variety of potions, since 1986. However, the new owner of the historic property, which once housed a post office and before that a general store, is looking for a […]
Posted inCity Council
Council tells staff to find funds for continued use of Marshalling Yard
On Thursday, City Council approved a resolution directing City Manager T.C. Broadnax to find funding to continue use of the Marshalling Yard emergency shelter for homeless people in Austin. The resolution specifically directs staff not to use money already allocated to the homeless response system. While 10 members voted for the resolution put forth by […]
Posted inWhispers
Austin Library director Roosevelt Weeks moves on
Mayor Kirk Watson and City Council said farewell Thursday to Roosevelt Weeks, who has served as the city’s director of libraries for the past seven years. He thanked Council for passing ordinances that cut down on barriers “so people can have access at all levels of our system.” Watson wished him “best of luck in […]
Posted inWhispers
Opponents file ethics complaints over candidates’ failures to comply with law
As reported by Ken Martin of The Austin Bulldog, a dozen candidates for City Council failed to file two different kinds of personal financial statements that are required by state law and the city code. After learning that his opponent had failed to file either the Statement of Financial Information or the Personal Financial Statement, […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy still pondering new generation plan
As part of Austin Energy’s effort to arrive at a new generation plan, the utility has spent this year talking to the public about what is most important to them when they think about electric service. According to Austin Energy’s chief operating officer, Lisa Martin, what the public wants most is reliability in their electric […]