Two Austin City Council members are renewing an effort to persuade Travis County to build a new civil courthouse in the so-called “Eastern Crescent.” The day after voters narrowly rejected the county’s $287 million bond to build the facility in downtown Austin, Council Member Don Zimmerman posted to the City Council Message Board a modified version of […]
Don Zimmerman
Former Austin City Council Member for District 6 (2014-2016)
Posted inElections
Travis County voters reject civil courthouse bonds
It was a tight match all night long, but in the end, Travis County’s $287 million Civil & Family Courts Complex bond fell with a stiff punch in the gut. After several tense hours that at one extended point saw support for the bond proposal holding a tenuous but growing lead, the final, unofficial count […]
Posted inWater
Zimmerman water resolution not legal
City Council Member Don Zimmerman has failed in his attempt to give water utility money back to some of the customers who used the most water and had the highest bills during August. Zimmerman had proposed directing the city manager to compare residential and multifamily monthly usage for this year to monthly usage for 2014 […]
Posted inTravis County
In Travis County’s courthouse bond campaign, a challenger emerges
With less than a month to go before Election Day, the first organized effort to oppose Travis County’s $287 million Civil & Family Courts Complex bond has finally materialized. The Travis County Taxpayers Union, backed by Austin City Council Member Don Zimmerman, held a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday to urge voters to […]
Posted inAustin, City Council
Ethics Commission reprimands Zimmerman
The Ethics Review Commission voted unanimously to sanction City Council Member Don Zimmerman for two violations of city campaign finance code Tuesday night. They also voted unanimously to issue a written reprimand to Zimmerman, though they did not recommend prosecuting the matter further. A reprimand is the second-most severe written sanction given by the commission. […]
Posted inAustin, City Council
Zimmerman will face ethics charges
Members of the Ethics Review Commission didn’t seem to know what to make of the four complaints lodged against Austin City Council Member Don Zimmerman. The charges, leveled by Mark Walters, a law clerk, forced the panel to explore the murky line between the public and private life of an elected official, a line that […]
Posted inAustin
Courthouse proposal gets shut down in committee
A city proposal to relocate the county courthouse from downtown to East Austin didn’t gain any traction at the Audit and Finance Committee on Wednesday, but it did spark a heated conversation. Though City Council Member Ellen Troxclair moved to approve the resolution, she did not receive a second. The resolution will not move on […]
Posted inTravis County
Swift backlash for Zimmerman’s courthouse idea
City Council Member Don Zimmerman’s idea to relocate the proposed Travis County Civil & Family Courts Complex to East Austin drew fire Thursday. After years of planning, Travis County Commissioners voted last month to place a $287 million bond on the November ballot in order to replace the 83-year-old Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse downtown. Genevieve […]
Posted inBudget
Zimmerman seeks cut to Chapter 380 funding
City Council Member Don Zimmerman has proposed that Council cut by 50 percent payments to companies that have Chapter 380 agreements with the city, as a way to “reduce the tax burden by over $6.8 million without cutting city services.” Zimmerman’s message as posted on the Council Message Board states, “This would just be for […]
Posted inCity Council, Texas State Legislature
Council debates city’s state legislative policies
With the 84th session of the Texas Legislature set to end June 1, the city’s Government Relations Office has kicked its lobbying efforts into overdrive. At the same time, City Council has opened a discussion about how the city determines its legislative program and makes decisions on which bills to support or oppose. A legislative […]
Posted inCity Council
Council again questions Zimmerman appointments
Facebook posts did them in. As City Council members nixed two of Council Member Don Zimmerman’s appointees — some citing comments made on social media pages — they debated Zimmerman’s judgment following what they said has been a string of controversial nominees to city boards and commissions. Council Member Greg Casar said he felt the […]
Posted inCity Council, Environment, Uncategorized
Zimmerman rejects briefing by climate scientist
Our climate is changing because of human activity. Most scientists, including Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist who studies climate change, agree with that statement, although some do not. Hayhoe, a professor and director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University, was one of several speakers at Monday’s City Council briefing on resilience. After Hayhoe’s […]