The city of Austin has certified the petition circulated by residents opposed to a planned soccer stadium that would be built on city-owned property. The petition drive began last year and was pushed by a group known as Friends of McKalla Place, named for the 24-acre parcel that is the site where the city and […]
Elections
Posted inBonds & Propositions
County stands firm on new construction standards for low-water crossing
Some Travis County voters are regretting having approved over $4 million to fix a low-water crossing at Great Divide Drive in Bee Cave as part of the 2017 bond. Listed alongside two dozen other projects under Proposition A, the project description stated that funds would go toward a bridge and replacement of “undersized culverts.” But […]
Posted inElections
‘Valid’ ethics complaint dismissed for being unconstitutional
Last October, Mayor Steve Adler’s campaign manager, James Wick, filed an ethics complaint against Megaphone GPAC, a general purpose political action committee opposing the mayor’s re-election. At the time, several attorneys opined that the complaint would be dismissed due to a previous 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, but the case continued to advance […]
Posted inElections
Natasha Harper-Madison easily prevails in District 1
After finishing in a virtual tie in the general election, Natasha Harper-Madison easily defeated Mariana Salazar to become the next Council member for District 1 in East and Northeast Austin. Harper-Madison carried the low-turnout runoff election 72 percent to 28 percent, with 3,404 votes to Salazar’s 1,341. In a barroom packed with supporters at the […]
Posted inElections
Renteria bests sister Almanza again
Council Member Pio Renteria held on to his seat the same way he won it four years ago: by beating his sister. The incumbent representative of District 3, which covers much of Central East and Southeast Austin, easily won re-election in a runoff against sibling Susana Almanza, earning roughly 65 percent of the vote. Talking […]
Posted inElections
Ellis handily wins District 8 election
Paige Ellis won the runoff for Southwest Austin’s District 8 City Council seat Tuesday night, defeating Frank Ward with 56 percent of the vote in a race that drew considerably fewer voters than the Nov. 6 election. Ellis received 6,115 votes and Ward received 4,799, for a total of 10,914 votes cast in District 8 […]
Posted inElections
Candidates dissatisfied with polling places
After all the excitement about Austinites’ heavy participation in the Nov. 6 election, there has been a huge drop in the number of voters participating in runoff elections. News outlets across the state reported heavy turnout throughout the November election’s early voting period, beginning with the first day. Locally, 58.29 percent of Austin’s registered voters cast […]
Posted inElections
D1 forum looks at city’s role in affordability, health care, displacement
The runoff election to fill the seat of District 1 Council Member Ora Houston may well hinge on the approaches candidates Natasha Harper-Madison and Mariana Salazar take to persistent East Austin issues such as housing affordability, health care access and how the city can help longtime residents remain in the fast-growing area. At last week’s […]
Posted inElections
Renteria, Almanza show stark differences in D3 runoff forum
A recent forum between District 3 City Council candidates Pio Renteria and Susana Almanza – who are siblings – showed that the runoff election may center on how much one of Austin’s fastest-growing areas should change in the years to come. In Monday’s forum hosted by Austin’s League of Women Voters and the city of […]
Posted inElections
Ward, Ellis offer contrasting views
Early voting starts today in City Council District 8, as well as Districts 1 and 3, for the Dec. 11 runoff elections. Frank Ward, the outspoken Republican seeking to represent Southwest Austin’s District 8 on the Austin City Council, believes a substantial portion of Austin’s city government is broken. He also believes that the representative […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Which areas of Austin killed Props J and K?
Last week, Austin voters approved nine of 11 propositions on the ballot, including seven bond measures totaling $925 million, a proposition that made small spelling corrections to the city charter and a proposition authorizing City Council to set rules for removing members of the Planning Commission. All nine measures passed with at least two-thirds of […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Austin urbanists see support for denser housing in defeat of Prop J and Laura Morrison
Most mornings, Dave Sullivan bikes from his house in Clarksville to the University of Texas. He then hops on an express bus to his job as a researcher at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus. During the election season, his daily commute served as a sort of poll of voters – albeit with a minuscule sample […]