Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo will face at least one opponent in her bid for re-election. Danielle Skidmore recently filed paperwork to join the race for District 9, which includes all of downtown and many Central Austin neighborhoods between MoPac Expressway and Interstate 35, including Bouldin, Hyde Park, Clarksville, West Campus, Old West Austin and […]
Elections
Posted inElections
Travis Duncan, new candidate for mayor
There’s a new face in the race for Austin mayor. Travis Duncan, 28, joins Mayor Steve Adler and former Council Member Laura Morrison in a quest to lead the city. Morrison plans to make a formal announcement on March 26. Duncan said he had recently left a job in the solar division of Tesla. “I […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
MACC seeks full expansion cost – up to $40M – in fall bond election
The advisory board for the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center will ask members of City Council to more than double the $15 million that was recently recommended to be provided to the center from an expected fall bond proposal for city infrastructure. At its meeting last week, board members voted to write a […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
UTC calls on Council to fund east side urban trails
The Urban Transportation Commission on Wednesday night called on City Council to put potentially millions of dollars’ worth of of east side urban trail projects on the November ballot. The four projects would fill in gaps in the existing and proposed bicycle network and connect neighborhoods to parks, trails and other destinations that are currently […]
Posted inElections
Sheryl Cole and ‘Chito’ Vela head to runoff in Texas House race, pushing Dawnna Dukes out
Democrats Sheryl Cole and Jose “Chito” Vela will move on to a runoff election for Texas House District 46 after pushing out embattled incumbent Dawnna Dukes in the primary on Tuesday. The district includes parts of East Austin, Manor and Pflugerville. Cole, a former City Council member, and Vela, an immigration attorney, both garnered 39 […]
Posted inElections
Updated: Dist. 21 offers surprises for both R’s and D’s
By midevening on election night, some longtime observers were laughing and scratching their heads over the surprise results that seemed to be developing in Texas’ 21st Congressional District, the seat being vacated by longtime Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio. On the Republican side, it was no surprise when Chip Roy, the man endorsed by Sen. […]
Posted inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: Pct. 4 challenger Susanna Woody
This week, Travis County Commissioners Court challenger Susanna Woody joins Austin Monitor freelance reporter Caleb Pritchard and Monitor editor Elizabeth Pagano to talk about why she is vying for the Precinct 4 seat. Listen to the whole interview with the Del Valle Independent School District trustee below: The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by […]
Posted inElections
Austinites may soon be able to directly support candidates through voucher donations
When it comes to political campaigning, it’s no secret that Austin has funding inequalities. Some fear these funding inequalities have fostered a lack of engagement among voters that has helped lead to the city’s notorious low turnout at the polls. Responding to the statistics, City Council charged the Charter Review Commission with determining the most […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
City unveils proposed Corridor Construction Program
The long-awaited proposed Corridor Construction Program, the road map to Mayor Steve Adler’s Smart Corridor Plan that he’s now touting as potentially “genius,” is finally out of the stable. The city’s Corridor Program Office has been working to develop the program voters approved in the record $720 million mobility bond in November 2016 that set […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
2012 APD bond projects appear to be stalled on many sides
Generally, if a bond is issued with a specific project in mind, when the money is awarded, the city gives a project team five years to complete whatever project the taxpayers are funding. That is, of course, unless the costs of the project were arbitrarily estimated and the team runs out of funds before the […]
Posted inLocal Politics
CodeNEXT critics postpone petition deadline, averting a May election
The political action committee hoping to put CodeNEXT to the voters has announced that it’s changing course and will aim for a referendum in November rather than May. As first reported by The Austin Bulldog on Thursday, IndyAustin PAC says it will wait until March to turn in the signatures the group is currently gathering […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Bond session puts focus on neglect of East Austin infrastructure
Affordable housing, upkeep of parks and cultural centers, and assorted infrastructure projects were some of the more popular civic needs advocated for by residents Wednesday night in the third of a series of town hall forums on the bond package Austin voters will vote on in November. The session, held at the Millennium Youth Entertainment […]