Council changes positions – literally… At their Thursday meeting, City Council members drew from a hat to determine where they will sit on the dais for the next six months. Mayor Steve Adler, who will remain seated in the middle between the city attorney and city manager, explained, “We decided as a Council we would […]
Austin City Council November 2014 Elections
The November 2014 Austin City Council elections marked a shift from an all-at-large City Council to one elected based mostly on geographic districts. The city’s Mayor remains elected at-large.
Posted inAustin, City Council, Courts
Judge hits Laura Pressley and attorney with $100,000 sanctions in election lawsuit
Laura Pressley tells the Austin Monitor that she is disappointed but not discouraged by $100,000 in sanctions imposed on sheher and her attorney. The unsuccessful city council candidate added that the ruling awarding nearly $100,000 in damages to her former District 4 Council opponent–and current Council Member–Greg Casar will not end her drive to challenge the […]
Posted inCourts
Judge assesses sanctions against Pressley, lawyer
At the end of a five-and-a-half hour hearing Wednesday, visiting Judge Dan Mills announced that he would be assessing sanctions against former City Council candidate Laura Pressley and her lawyer, David Rogers, for making spurious claims in her election contest lawsuit against Council Member Greg Casar. Casar won the runoff election on Dec. 16 with […]
Posted inCourts
Hearing on sanctions against Pressley to continue
Chuck Herring, one of the attorneys for City Council Member Greg Casar, said Thursday that he will be asking for more than $150,000 in fees already expended by Casar’s legal team in defending a lawsuit brought by former District 4 Council opponent Laura Pressley. In addition, Herring said he will be asking for about $100,000 for […]
Posted inCourts
Judge dismisses Pressley election contest
Visiting Judge Dan Mills dismissed former City Council candidate Laura Pressley’s election contest lawsuit against Council Member Greg Casar on Tuesday, citing a lack of evidence that would throw into doubt the outcome of the December runoff election for Council’s District 4 seat. Casar won the election by 1,291 votes, or 65 percent, compared to […]
Posted inElections
Pressley continues District 4 election contest
Nearly four months after a decisive loss to Greg Casar, who became the Austin City Council Member for District 4, Laura Pressley was in court Monday morning, trying to achieve there what she could not achieve at the ballot box: defeat Casar and win a seat on the Council. Her lawsuit also follows a recount […]
Posted inCourts, Elections
Aleshire files criminal complaint against Zimmerman
District 6 City Council Member Don Zimmerman may be headed back to court, but this time as a defendant in a criminal prosecution. On Thursday, AleshireLAW PC attorney Bill Aleshire filed a criminal complaint against Zimmerman with the Travis County District Attorney and the Texas Ethics Commission. Aleshire’s complaint centers on Zimmerman using $2,000 in […]
Posted inAustin, Elections, Local Politics
Despite PAC reports, some campaign facts unclear
The political action committee that funded an attack ad against consultant David Butts has filed a campaign finance report showing contributions from former Texas Monthly publisher Mike Levy and Bryan Hardeman, owner of Continental Automotive Group. Levy and Hardeman contributed $4,800 and $5,000 respectively to the Coalition of Austin Neighborhoods, according to a report the […]
Posted inAustin, Elections, Local Politics
Explainer: What it cost to run for Council in 2014
Each week the Explainer offers a closer look at stories we have been following. This week examines the relative costs of getting elected to Austin City Council in 2014. The 2014 Council election was, of course, the most expensive in city history. New Mayor Steve Adler alone spent around $1.5 million over the span of his […]
Posted inAustin, Elections, Local Politics
Explainer: D6 & D10 — elections and the future
Each week, the Explainer offers Monitor readers a closer look at stories we have been following. New City Council Members Sheri Gallo (District 10) and Don Zimmerman (District 6) represent two-thirds of what is perhaps the most interesting twist in the new 10-1 district system: a chance for Republican voters in the western part of […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Local Politics
District 8’s Troxclair vows to be accessible leader
New City Council Member Ellen Troxclair won the District 8 seat by less than half a percentage point. Now, fresh from vacation, she said she’s ready to hit the ground running. “I’m so humbled to be in the position I am and to have the support and faith of the people in District 8,” she […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Local Politics
New Council members sworn in, ready for work
Both the dais and City Hall were filled Tuesday night, when all 11 members of Austin’s new City Council were sworn in to office. Former Mayor Lee Leffingwell opened the ceremony by noting it was the first time there had been a single-member district Council since 1905. “Welcome to the Peoples’ Home,” said Council Member […]