The Texas Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that City Council must change the language it used to describe Save Austin Now’s ballot proposition reinstating the ban on homeless camping and the prohibition on panhandling after dark. Council, which was meeting in work session when the ruling came down, complied with the court’s order by making a […]
Elections
Posted inElections
Ethics complaint against Voices of Austin will get final hearing
A complaint that nonprofit Voices of Austin violated city code by campaigning against Proposition A will move to a final hearing, the Ethics Review Commission decided. The preliminary hearing at Wednesday’s meeting was a redo of the first preliminary hearing, which was cut short due to a problem with the city’s virtual meeting software. Political […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Council to consider proposition fix at Friday night meeting
City Council is scheduled to meet once again this Friday night to consider one more possible ordinance to place on the May 1 ballot. On Tuesday night, after a long day of making decisions about how to word eight proposed charter amendments and ordinances, Council called it a day and Mayor Steve Adler canceled meetings […]
Posted inElections
Camping ban, strong-mayor proposal set for May 1 ballot
Austin voters who go to the polls on May 1 will have no candidates to vote for. Instead, they will have numerous questions to answer about how Austin’s government should be run and whether to reinstate the ban on camping, sitting or lying on a public sidewalk or soliciting money between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. […]
Posted inElections
Voters to decide on changes to how Austin’s government works
Austin voters will be asked to decide on a slew of changes to the way local politicians are elected and what power they have in governing after the city clerk validated a petition Tuesday. Earlier this month, Austinites for Progressive Reform, a local political action committee, turned in a petition with more than 20,000 signatures, the amount […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Small group funding push for strong mayor
Andrew Allison, founder and treasurer of the political action committee seeking to replace Austin’s Council-manager form of government with a strong-mayor system, has contributed $25,000 to the committee and loaned it $92,000, according to documents filed with the Austin city clerk’s office. Allison’s mother, brother and wife have contributed an additional $25,000, and old friends, […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Commission hears preview of complaint against Voices of Austin in truncated meeting
An audio problem during last week’s meeting of the Ethics Review Commission cut short what was promising to be a contentious hearing for a complaint against a local nonprofit. Political consultant Mark Littlefield, who also brought a complaint against Save Austin Now, alleged that Voices of Austin, a 501(c)(4) organization, sent a political mailer that […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Ethics commissioners request more evidence in complaint against Save Austin Now
Save Austin Now, the nonprofit that is gathering signatures to reinstate the city’s ban on homeless camping, faced an ethics complaint at last week’s Ethics Review Commission meeting. The complaint, brought by political consultant Mark Littlefield, alleges that the organization overstepped the bounds of its 501(c)(4) status by engaging in unauthorized political activity and failing […]
Posted inElections
Kelly overtakes Flannigan in District 6 runoff
After a close runoff election Tuesday, residents of District 6 in far Northwest Austin will be represented for the next four years by Mackenzie Kelly, the first Republican to serve on City Council since 2018. “This is a tough night for all of us … but it doesn’t mean that any of this work ends,” District […]
Posted inElections
Alter wins reelection in tight District 10 race
Incumbent District 10 City Council Member Alison Alter pulled out a win over her conservative challenger, Jennifer Virden, in Tuesday’s runoff election. The race was too close to call early in the evening, but at the end of the night Alter came away with a 587-vote victory, giving her 51.22 percent of the vote to […]
Posted inElections
Reports reveal party loyalties
Even though City Council elections are generally nonpartisan, Austin’s incumbent Council members, Alison Alter and Jimmy Flannigan, both Democrats, have made it clear that they, not their Republican opponents, represent the voice of the people. Their runoff opponents, Jennifer Virden in District 10 and Mackenzie Kelly in District 6, have spent their energy talking about […]
Posted inElections
Flannigan and Kelly showdown in District 6 forum
District 6 voters once again have a choice between two candidates: incumbent Jimmy Flannigan and challenger Mackenzie Kelly. In November, Flannigan won just over 40 percent of the vote and Kelly just over 33 percent. On social media and at campaign events, the rhetoric between the two candidates and their supporters has been heated, and […]