Former Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell has endorsed Mackenzie Kelly, who is challenging District 6 Council Member Jimmy Flannigan in his bid for reelection in November. Leffingwell told the Austin Monitor he agreed to back Kelly because she supports full funding for the Austin Police Department. “I was asked to endorse her,” Leffingwell said, by “some […]
Jo Clifton
Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor.
Posted inCity Hall
City stepping back from bulk pickups
As cases of Covid-19 continue to spread through the community, it becomes more onerous for many essential workers to do their jobs, including those who provide trash, recycling and compost collection services. As the twice-yearly curbside collection of bulk items and large brush and trees has proven to be too burdensome this summer, Austin Resource Recovery is […]
Posted inElections
Misunderstanding may lower vote-by-mail numbers
As if worries about the coronavirus were not enough, some Travis County voters inadvertently failed to ask for the correct ballot when applying to vote by mail. As a result, some voters will get a ballot only for the Texas Senate District 14 race, but not for the various runoffs, mostly in the Democratic primary. […]
Posted inCity Hall
Bee Cave Council member sues over removal
A member of the Bee Cave City Council who was removed from office on June 17, five weeks after being sworn in for a two-year term, filed suit against the city as well as the mayor and Council members who voted to remove him for violating the city charter. Bill Goodwin’s lawsuit alleges that the […]
Posted inWhispers
Early voting begins today
Early voting starts today throughout Texas in runoffs from the March primaries as well as some special elections. Polls will be open every day through July 10 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., except for July 3 and 4. Election day is July 14 because Gov. Greg Abbott postponed runoffs previously scheduled for May in […]
Posted inCity Hall
With virus surging, Cronk revises return-to-work plan
City Manager Spencer Cronk announced Thursday that he was postponing reintegrating city employees back into the workplace for a month due to concerns about the increase in Covid-19 cases. Instead of starting on June 29, the first phase is now scheduled for July 27, according to a memo from Cronk to City Council. At about […]
Posted inCity Hall
Housing, Planning & Zoning departments to merge
Under a plan proposed by Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales Thursday, the city’s Planning and Zoning Department would be merged with the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department in the 2020-21 fiscal year, which starts in October. The new department’s proposed name is the Housing and Planning Department. Rosie Truelove, who directs NHCD, would be […]
Posted inWhispers
Garza advertising anti-Garza flyer
Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza, who is running against Assistant County Attorney Laurie Eiserloh in the July 14 Democratic party runoff for Travis County Attorney, has battled criticism of her lack of legal experience and her votes in favor of CodeNEXT. Now a political action committee backed by pro-neighborhood activists like David King and Fred […]
Posted inWhispers
Travis County sets new record for registered voters
Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector Bruce Elfant clearly relishes the other part of his job: voter registration. The coronavirus has made it more difficult to register new voters this spring; yet Travis County has still set a new record with 828,127 registered voters, Elfant said Wednesday. He noted that the county added about 3,000 additional voters […]
Posted inWhispers
Dick Lillie, father of Austin Tomorrow, dies
Dick Lillie, who led the city planning department through some of its most turbulent times, died Monday at the age of 89. Lillie ushered a host of land use regulations through the city adoption process that are now deemed essential to planning and preserving neighborhoods and the environment. Jim Duncan, his friend and successor as director […]
Posted inCity Council
Former Council Member Berl Handcox, who broke the color barrier, dies at 88
Berl Handcox, Austin’s first elected African American City Council member since Reconstruction, has died at the age of 88. Handcox was elected as part of the seven-member Council on May 1, 1971, and reelected on April 7, 1973. He received about 62 percent of the vote for both elections. He resigned from his seat in […]
Posted inWhispers
Mail ballots could break record
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir announced Monday that her office is on track to break the record of 31,000 ballots mailed in during the 2016 presidential election. According to a news release from her office, the elections division has already received more than 28,000 applications from people wanting to vote by mail. Under normal circumstances, […]