In City Council District 8 and District 1, incumbents Ellen Troxclair and Ora Houston are retiring. In each case, the current council member has announced her endorsement of a candidate to take her seat in January. However, that has not made the endorsement process much easier for those candidates. Houston endorsed Vincent Harding for District […]
Elections
Posted inElections
Adler, Tovo top list of endorsed candidates
Since the race began, it has looked like Mayor Steve Adler would have an easier path to victory than his major opponent, former Council Member Laura Morrison. His incumbency and better name ID are factors, and another is his personal wealth. But if Morrison could ignite anger among Democrats and take more club endorsements, that […]
Posted inElections
ANC releases Council scorecard
Last week, the Austin Neighborhoods Council voted to endorse the group’s former president, Laura Morrison, for mayor. They also endorsed another former ANC activist, Kathie Tovo, the incumbent in District 9 who serves as mayor pro tem. In addition, ANC endorsed Bobby Levinski for the open District 8 seat. He is a former aide to […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Petitioners seek public vote on city’s soccer stadium deal
The activist group that worked to derail the city’s CodeNEXT land use code update has set its sights on preventing the construction of a 20,000-seat soccer stadium in North Austin. IndyAustin has started gathering signatures on petitions that would call for a referendum and voter approval of any use of city property – in this […]
Posted inElections
Council candidates offer different ideas on housing policy
The decision by Mayor Steve Adler and City Council last month to abandon CodeNEXT, a proposed rewrite of the Land Development Code, reflected the deep divisions in the community over the prospect of increased residential density in single-family neighborhoods. However, in response to a questionnaire sent out by AURA, an urbanist advocacy group that supports […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Environmental group opposes propositions J, K
Austin Environmental Democrats on Friday voted to oppose two propositions placed on the November ballot by citizen petitions. Like a number of other groups, the environmentalists voted to oppose Proposition K, which seeks to have a comprehensive audit of all city departments and functions and is backed by the right-wing Texas Public Policy Foundation. However, […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Plenty of PACs for November bond election
District 2 Council Member Delia Garza wants to make sure that when Austin voters go to the polls to vote on the city’s $925 million bond package on Nov. 6, they understand how important it is to support Proposition E, which would provide funding for a new neighborhood and health care facility in Dove Springs. […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Don’t expect harmony from groups attached to $128M push for creative, culture centers
While the city’s cultural centers and the disparate arts and music communities will win or lose collectively in November when voters decide whether to approve $128 million in bond funding, it appears those groups will be working separately to campaign and educate voters over the next two months. That’s the indication from a recent board […]
Posted inElections
Council endorsement dances have begun
Political season has truly begun, with groups large and small hosting candidate forums and making endorsements. Last Friday, enough supporters of both incumbent District 3 Council Member Pio Renteria and his sister, Susana Almanza, came out to vote at the Austin Environmental Democrats meeting to force a dual endorsement of the pair. The group also […]
Posted inElections
Music groups take aim at the ballot box with new nonprofit
Two months before the November midterm elections, a consortium of businesses and nonprofits involved in Austin’s music industry have banded together with the goal of having a greater influence at the ballot box. The new Music Moves Austin 501(c)(4) nonprofit has joined together representatives from Austin Music People, the Red River Merchants Association, the Urban […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Travis County gets slow start to $185M bond program
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt isn’t ready to hit the panic button, but she is expressing concern about the amount of time it’s taking for the county to get going on the $185 million of projects that voters approved in last year’s bond election. On Tuesday, the Commissioners Court finally voted to approve a program […]
Posted inElections
Event series stresses involvement over votes for political novices
Not long into Thursday’s launch party for the Good Politics meet-and-greet event series, co-organizer Nathan Ryan knew he’d found a kindred spirit and a kind of ideal participant when he spied a male attendee sporting a sticker reading “Vote the (expletives) out.” “He didn’t know who I was, so I went up to him and […]