Lee’s new team?… Former Mayor Lee Leffingwell never had the noted social media chops of his successor (or his successor’s spokesperson, at least), and after he stepped down in 2015, his Twitter account mostly retired with him. In 2017, he posted a handful of tweets that mostly reminisced about his time at City Hall. However, […]
Lee Leffingwell
Former mayor of the City of Austin
Posted inAustin
Clarke Hammond passes away at 66
Clarke Hammond, 66, a larger-than-life figure in the Austin community, died Saturday following liver surgery. His friend, former Mayor Lee Leffingwell, described Hammond as a man “who lived life large. He probably crammed more life into 50 years than most people do in 80.” “He did my very first fundraiser with a keg of beer,” […]
Posted inCity Hall
Leffingwell: The jury’s still out on new system
The Austin Monitor sat down with former Mayor Lee Leffingwell at the end of 2015 to get his observations about how the new single-member district system is working and what he thinks City Council’s challenges might be in 2016. Leffingwell said, “I don’t watch them all the time, but I have seen them in action […]
Posted inTravis County
Radford formally launches campaign
Beneath the sweltering September sun outside of his East Austin campaign headquarters, Lakeway Police Chief Todd Radford officially launched his campaign for Travis County sheriff on Monday morning. “I want to be the next sheriff because I think that everyone deserves to have a safe community,” Radford declared to a small crowd of about two […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Local Politics
Leffingwell says new Council will face challenges
Lee Leffingwell has now retired after serving for four years on the Austin City Council and nearly six years as mayor. The Austin Monitor recently asked him to talk about his favorite part of the job. “I tell people all the time the best part of the job is representing the city of Austin,” he […]
Posted inAustin, Local Politics, Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: Mayor Lee Leffingwell
Retiring Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell joins Monitor Publisher Mike Kanin and Political Editor Jo Clifton to look back at his terms and look ahead to the new era in Austin politics. The show is posted below: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/181020746″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Mayor’s boyhood home set to become landmark
Mayor Lee Leffingwell’s South Austin boyhood home is one step closer to Historic Landmark status. Last week, the Planning Commission sent a positive recommendation to City Council for 910 Christopher Street in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood to be rezoned as a landmark, as did the Historic Landmark Commission before them. “I’m kind of surprised,” said […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Resources
City Council closing in on a final budget
City Council didn’t pull any punches at the start of Tuesday’s budget session, setting next year’s tax rate before anyone’s coffee had time to cool. Council members voted unanimously to adopt the tax rate of 48.09 cents per $100 taxable value, which is in line with the budget proposed by City Manager Marc Ott. The […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Politics
Council takes no action on move to remove Leffingwell from BCCP
Activists opposed to State Highway 45 Southwest lost a battle at Thursday’s City Council meeting when a motion died to replace Mayor Lee Leffingwell as chair of the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan’s Coordinating Committee. Council Member Kathie Tovo moved to replace Leffingwell with Council Member Laura Morrison, but the motion died for lack of […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Politics
Leffingwell clashes with Morrison, Tovo on his position on SH45 SW
A testy exchange between Mayor Lee Leffingwell and several members at Tuesday’s Austin City Council work session put deep divisions about the proposed State Highway 45 Southwest on full display. Leffingwell found himself in the hot seat when colleagues asked him how he’d vote if the highway appeared on the agenda of the Balcones […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Politics, Transportation
Riley, Cole continue to oppose SH45 SW in CAMPO’s 2040 Plan
Austin Council Member Chris Riley and Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole voiced continued opposition to State Highway 45 Southwest toll road project at the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Policy Board meeting Monday. Riley and Cole opposed including SH45 SW in the CAMPO 2040 Plan. Riley was carrying Council Member Bill Spelman’s proxy and […]