District 4 City Council Member Chito Vela plans to kick off his reelection campaign at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Knomad Bar, 1213 Corona Drive. Vela, who won a special election to replace Greg Casar when Casar was elected to Congress, was reelected in January 2022 with more than 59 percent of the vote. Vela prevailed […]
Jo Clifton
Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor.
Posted inCourts
Judge rejects appeal in Central Health lawsuit
Judge Amy Clark Meachum has rejected a request by plaintiffs suing Central Health to take an immediate appeal to the 3rd Court of Appeals over the agency’s transfer of $35 million per year to the University of Texas Dell Medical School. The plaintiffs – Rebecca Birch, Richard Franklin III and Esther Govea – say voters […]
Posted inCourts
Attorney general files appeal before rail trial begins
The Texas attorney general’s office filed an appeal to the 3rd Court of Appeals on Monday morning after Judge Eric Shepperd told a packed Travis County courtroom that he would not rule on a challenge to the jurisdiction before hearing evidence in the case brought by the city of Austin and the Austin Transit Partnership. […]
Posted inTransit
Project Connect lawsuit likely headed to appeal before trial
The Project Connect lawsuit expected to go to trial Monday appears destined for appeal instead. Assistant Attorney General Alyssa Bixby-Lawson, whose office opposes efforts by the city of Austin and the Austin Transit Partnership to validate voter-approved bonds for constructing Project Connect, has indicated that the attorney general’s office will not move forward with the […]
Posted inTransit
Project Connect lawsuit finally headed to court Monday
Although the matter has been postponed in the past, it seems likely that Monday will be the trial date for the Austin Transit Partnership and the city of Austin lawsuit to validate voter-approved bonds for Project Connect, combined with the Dirty Martin’s lawsuit to prevent issuance of those bonds. The other important player on this […]
Posted inPolice
Staff shortages are still a problem at APD
Before a scheduled briefing on the Austin Police Department’s community policing program, members of the City Council Public Safety Committee heard a pitch from Ethan Cheramie of On Scene Services proposing that his company take over the duties of officers who respond to motor vehicle collisions in Austin. Cheramie, the only speaker during citizen communication […]
Posted inElections
Kathie Tovo kicks off mayoral campaign criticizing Kirk Watson
Kathie Tovo, who served on City Council from 2012 to 2023, including four years as mayor pro tem, is running for mayor – and she’s not shy about explaining why she wants to replace Mayor Kirk Watson. At her campaign kickoff party Wednesday night at a crowded El Mercado Restaurant in South Austin, Tovo told […]
Posted inZoning
Council approves 90-foot building for South Congress neighborhood
Facing a valid petition from the neighborhood, City Council provided the bare minimum of nine votes to approve zoning changes in the South Congress and Red Bird Lane neighborhood last week that will allow for development of 90-foot, 275-unit apartment complex as well as several thousand feet of retail space. Council Member Mackenzie Kelly voted […]
Posted inBudget
Commissioners urge Council to increase public safety budgets
Members of the city’s Public Safety Commission voted unanimously on Monday to recommend that City Council adopt a budget this summer that will support needs outlined by representatives of the Austin Fire Department, Austin-Travis County EMS and the Austin Police Department. Representatives of each of the departments talked about their unfunded needs, stressing the importance […]
Posted inWhispers
Mayoral candidate Kathie Tovo hosts kickoff party tonight
Former City Council Member Kathie Tovo, who served on Council from 2012 to 2023, will be hosting a mayoral campaign kickoff at 6:30 p.m. at El Mercado Restaurant on South First Street. Tovo, who served as mayor pro tem for four years, stresses her “proven record of standing up for women, workers, immigrants, and the […]
Posted inCity Council
Council adopts new two-minute rule for speakers
Though City Council moved forward with new two-minute time limits, several speakers at Thursday’s Council meeting urged them to adopt a rule giving each speaker three minutes per item, the amount prescribed by Judge Madeleine Connor in April and Judge Daniella Deseta Lyttle in May. Prior to the court case brought by the Save Our […]
Posted inWhispers
Council to consider two-minute rule for speakers
Since the city lost a battle with the Save Our Springs Alliance and its executive director, Bill Bunch, over how much time members of the public should get to address City Council, members of the public have been given three minutes per item, regardless of how many items they wished to address. Council seems likely […]