Ethics complaints filed against mayoral candidate Doug Greco and incumbent Mayor Kirk Watson will move to a final hearing next month, but an anticipated court ruling could circumvent the proceedings. In a preliminary hearing Wednesday, the Ethics Review Commission determined there were reasonable grounds to believe that both Greco and Watson violated the city’s campaign […]
Elections
Posted inElections
All five mayoral candidates take the stage at forum
All five mayoral candidates participated in Wednesday’s mayoral forum, hosted by Austin PBS and the LBJ School of Public Affairs’ Urban Lab, to discuss major issues facing the city, including policing, housing, economic development and affordability. Policing was the first topic on the docket after the Austin police union and the city agreed to a […]
Posted inElections
Watson collects the most endorsements among mayoral candidates
Campaigns for City Council and mayor are heating up just as the weather is cooling a bit, by Austin standards at least. Mayor Kirk Watson is touting his many endorsements, with a full page devoted to the 14 unions that have indicated their support, starting with the Austin Firefighters Association and the Austin-Travis County EMS […]
Posted inElections
Paxton sues Travis County over voter registration attempt
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on Friday in an attempt to prevent Travis County from hiring an outside firm to find people eligible to vote who are not registered. The Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously last month to hire Civic Government Solutions to provide the names and addresses of eligible resident […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Ethics Commission complaints allege Mayor Watson and challenger Doug Greco violated campaign finance laws
Incumbent Kirk Watson and challenger Doug Greco may soon hit a snag in their respective bids for mayor, with the Ethics Review Commission investigating claims that both broke the same campaign finance law. The complaints, filed by former Commissioner Betsy Greenberg, allege that the candidates exceeded the $46,000 limit on donations sourced from outside the […]
Posted inAustin, Elections
Texas Supreme Court to decide whether Austin has a charter election this year
The Supreme Court of Texas has accepted a petition for a writ of mandamus in the Save Our Springs Alliance lawsuit against the city of Austin regarding alleged violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act. If the court agrees with the plaintiffs that the city violated the Open Meetings Act in setting a charter election […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Council could OK task force to design bond package focused on climate change
Next week, City Council will consider forming a task force to design the city’s next bond package expected to go before voters by fall 2026. Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool has led on the resolution that calls for the creation of a 22-member body that would begin meeting in October, with Mayor Kirk Watson and […]
Posted inAISD
Austin ISD is asking voters to approve a new tax rate to help fund pay raises, reduce deficit
The Austin ISD school board is asking voters to approve a higher property tax rate in November that would increase the district’s revenue by tens of millions of dollars. That money would be used to give more than 60 percent of employees a raise and reduce the district’s budget deficit to $78 million. Austin ISD […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Council formally authorizes November election with 13 proposed charter amendments
City of Austin voters will face a loaded ballot in November, with 13 charter amendments to be decided as well as a full slate of political races to elect a mayor and five City Council members. City Council last week ordered a Nov. 5 general election, which will include a special election for the proposed […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
County commissioners approve tax rate election to raise $75M for child care
The Travis County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to place a tax rate increase on the November ballot that could generate $75 million per year to improve child care services throughout the area. If approved, the money would be used to increase access to child care and after-school and summer programming activities, which have been found […]
Posted inElections
Ethics complaint alleges mayoral candidates received too much money from outside the city
A former member of the city’s Ethics Review Commission, Betsy Greenberg, has filed ethics complaints against Mayor Kirk Watson and one of his challengers, Doug Greco. In her complaints, Greenberg alleges that both candidates collected more money from outside the city of Austin than is allowed under the city charter. The Austin Bulldog reported on […]
Posted inElections
Who’s raising money? Campaign finance reports show some surprises
Earlier this week, the Austin Monitor reported on campaign finance tallies for Mayor Kirk Watson, his opponents and candidates for District 7 and District 4. Now it’s time to look at the other races and the surprising fundraising by City Council members Zo Qadri and Ryan Alter, who are not up for reelection until 2026. […]