City of Austin

Citizens Group To Make Final Petition Push

Austinites for Geographic Representation Claims to
Have 17,000 Signatures, and Shoots for 13,000 More

by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2012
Posted Monday, June 4, 2012 11:01pm

It's been 15 months since Austinites for Geographic Representation held its first meeting in February 2011 at Huston-Tillotson University and the group has been steadily building a coalition of supporters and rounding up endorsements ever since.

The group's proposal to have 10 council members elected from geographic districts and only the mayor elected at large, and to have geographic districts drawn by an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, has gotten a lot of traction—including endorsements from a range of groups including the League of Women Voters of the Austin Area, Austin Neighborhoods Council, the and the Travis County Republican Party. (To see the full list of organizations and individuals endorsing the plan, click here.)

Even the council-appointed 2012 Charter Revision Committee backed the 10-1 plan with an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, though by a narrow 8-7 vote that triggered work by some on the losing end to continue lobbying for a hybrid plan that includes a couple of at-large council seats in addition to the mayor.

What the 10-1 plan has not gotten so far is broad public support from members of the Austin City Council. To date, only Council Member Mike Martinez has voiced unequivocal support for the plan.

Hence the grassroots effort by Austinites for Geographic Representation continues to gather the signatures of 20,000 registered city voters.

The long-running struggle to find balance between owners who want to rent their property for short periods and neighbors who object to the problems caused by some short-term rentals continues.

The Austin American-Statesman’s story Monday summed up the situation in which the Planning Commission’s efforts to find an acceptable middle-ground have been unsuccessful, and both sides vow to continue the battle.

Amid this ongoing controversy, on May 21 an Austin-based company established a website that provides a way for people who support short-term rentals to e-mail a form letter to City Council members en masse.

The site was initially anonymous but The Austin Bulldog’s check into the website, VisitorsBenefitAustin, determined that it is being paid for by HomeAway, an Austin-based company with worldwide reach promoting short-term rentals.

A private movie screening at Alamo Drafthouse, an end-of-the-year celebration at Dave and Busters, and an outing at Main Event Entertainment to bowl and eat barbecue are among the publicly funded events held to recognize Austin Energy employees over the past two and a half years.

As City Council members grapple with a proposed electric rate increase for Austin Energy customers, The Austin Bulldog paid $281 to obtain hundreds of documents through open records requests submitted in March outlining how the city-owned electric utility company manages spending for employee parties, business dinners, and travel.

The records indicate that Austin Energy spent at least $123,065 related to holiday, retirement and employee appreciation events from October 1, 2009 to February 29, 2012.

Throughout his campaign for Austin City Council, Dominic Chavez said some have characterized him as a conservative, developer-backed candidate vying for a seat on a Democrat-dominated council.

After all, Chavez is a former spokesperson for the Real Estate Council of Austin, voted in five Republican races—and one Democratic primary—and nearly half of his campaign contributions come from people indicating they work in real estate or development.

But in an interview with The Austin Bulldog Thursday, Chavez, who is challenging incumbent Bill Spelman for the Place 5 seat, said he is not the “caricature” some people and media outlets have painted him to be.

Background Investigation: Laura Pressley

Here’s What the Public Records Say
About the City Council Candidate

by Rebecca LaFlure
© The Austin Bulldog 2012
Posted Monday, April 30, 2012 1:59pm

With less than two weeks before election day May 12, Laura Pressley faces an uphill battle to unseat two-term incumbent Mike Martinez in the Place 2 Austin City Council race.Early voting for the mayoral and council election started today. For a list of early voting locations, click here.

Pressley lags her opponent in campaign donations and has been confronted with concerns about her political affiliations and lack of city policy experience.

She is also running for the council seat unofficially reserved for a Hispanic member.