Addressing a standing-room-only crowd at City Hall Friday night, newly installed Mayor Kirk Watson pledged to pursue unity, in contrast to the national picture depicted by the Trump insurrection of Jan. 6. Even as Watson was speaking, members of the U.S. House of Representatives were trying, and failing, to decide on the most basic of […]
Jo Clifton
Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor.
Posted inCity Council
Who’s working at City Hall these days?
With today’s swearing in, Austin have a new mayor and three new City Council members, and those city leaders will have staff members helping them to steer the often turbulent waters of city policy. And active citizens will have new staff to get to know. Council Member José Velásquez, who is taking over the District […]
Posted inWhispers
Ethics commission requests more information
The city’s Ethics Review Commission believes City Council members are not disclosing enough information to assure the public that they do not have conflicts of interest when voting on various items. The commission also has complained that Council members’ statements of financial interest are not available on the city website. In fact, those statements are […]
Posted inCity Council
Kelly, Guerrero allege Adler broke law in endorsements
Council Member Mackenzie Kelly and former City Council candidate Linda Guerrero have filed complaints with the Texas Ethics Commission and Travis County Attorney Delia Garza alleging that Mayor Steve Adler broke the law when he endorsed Zo Qadri and José Velásquez at a news conference carried on the city’s TV channel, ATXN, on Dec. 1. […]
Posted inCity Council
In final year as mayor, Adler reviews highlights of eight years in office
The city of Austin has faced big challenges in the past eight years, weathered mighty storms – both literal and metaphorical – and continued to grow, even as some longtime residents lamented the many changes taking place across the city. As Mayor Steve Adler wraps up his final year in office, he shared some recollections […]
Posted inCity Council
Leslie Pool is ready to take on more duties in 2023
December was a busy month in the busy year of 2022 for District 7 City Council Member Leslie Pool. As chair of the Council Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee, her most important duty was shepherding through the utility’s rate change, which will bring Austin Energy much-needed revenue but was not popular with some advocates for […]
Posted inWhispers
City Hall staff on the move
With the exit of the mayor and three City Council members, a lot of City Hall staffers are pondering change and looking for new jobs. Lesley Varghese, who has been chief of staff for Mayor Steve Adler, tells the Austin Monitor she is moving to the SAFE Alliance to serve as its new president and […]
Posted inCity Council
Vela ready to take action to create more housing in 2023
City Council Member José “Chito” Vela has been hard at work since he was sworn in to the District 4 seat in February following his election in January. He’s been holding down two jobs, serving as a Council member and finishing up his work as an attorney. In mid-December, he had six cases to complete […]
Posted inWhispers
Shack to remain in mayor’s office
Barbara Shack, who has served as Mayor Steve Adler’s executive assistant for nearly eight years, told the Austin Monitor that she’s joining the staff of Austin’s next mayor, Kirk Watson, when he takes office in January. She said she expects to sit in the same spot for the next couple of years, adding that she […]
Posted inWhispers
Watson won Travis County by 30 votes
A lot of people were surprised by the very close race for mayor, with the results on Dec. 13 showing that former Sen. Kirk Watson had 57,346 votes and state Rep. Celia Israel had 56,460 – just 886 fewer votes. Israel won Travis County by 17 votes but Watson won Williamson and Hays, giving him […]
Posted inWhispers
Friends remember Shudde Fath
Friends and family gathered Sunday to honor the life of Shudde Bess Bryson Fath, one of Austin’s best-known and hardest-working environmentalists. She died at the age of 106 on Dec. 9 after more than 40 years of service to the community. One of her longtime friends, Bruce Elfant, who is Travis County’s tax assessor-collector and […]
Posted inPublic Health
Audit shows flaws in city’s plans for cold weather shelters
An audit presented to the City Council Audit & Finance committee last week says the city is not keeping up with planning for cold weather shelters and that city staff have not received sufficient training in dealing with people seeking shelter during extreme cold. In addition, the city does not appear to be consistently following […]