Elections
Proposed Districting Timeline Draws Flak
- Proposed Districting Timeline Draws Flak
- Redistricting expert says schedule does not
- allow enough time for federal approval process
- by Ken Martin
- © The Austin Bulldog 2012
- Posted Tuesday, December 4, 2012 3:37pm
City Auditor Ken Mory and his chief of investigations, Jason Hadavi, briefed the Austin City Council in this morning’s work session, including proposed dates for accomplishing major tasks related to establishing 10 council districts, as approved by voters November 6. (The core of the briefing is contained in the City Auditor’s Slides for City Council Briefing.)
The briefing took place in advance of tonight’s related public forum that starts 7pm in One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road, Room 325. (To see a map, click here.) The purpose of the forum is to encourage participation in the Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission (CIRC) and secure a large and diverse pool of qualified applicants.
The schedule proposed by the City Auditor indicates that the CIRC would adopt a final plan for the 10 geographic districts by April 1, 2014.
Attorney Steve Bickerstaff, who has represented more than a hundred jurisdictions on redistricting in his long legal career, told The Austin Bulldog that April 1, 2014, is not soon enough.
Mayor: My Commission Beats Your Commission
- Mayor: My Commission Beats Your Commission
- Mayor Lee Leffingwell lifts idea for citizens to draw
- council districts and undercut opposing proposition
- by Ken Martin
- © The Austin Bulldog 2012
- Posted Friday, November 2, 2012 6:22pm
On Wednesday Mayor Lee Leffingwell's automated telephone calls rang the phones of thousands of Austin voters to criticize the Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission for City of Austin that's part of Proposition 3’s 10-1 plan for electing council members from geographic districts. (More about the transcript of that call later.)
Today, the mayor held a noon-hour press conference at City Hall to propose his own version of a “Citizens Committee to Review Redistricting” that would be used if Proposition 4’s 8-2-1 plan passes and gets more votes than the Proposition 3 plan put on the ballot through a petition drive led by Austinites for Geographic Representation (AGR).
The chief difference between the two redistricting proposals is that Prop 3’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission would draw council districts the City Council would have no choice but to adopt.
The mayor’s proposed committee would only be advisory and the City Council would be able to reject, revise, or adopt the committee’s recommendations.
Push for November Elections Raises $52,250
- Push for November Elections Raises $52,250
- RECA and Austin Board of Realtors PACs each
- kick in $26,000 to move council election dates
- by Ken Martin
- © The Austin Bulldog 2012
- Posted October 29, 2012 8:51pm
The Democracy Austin Political Action Committee reporting raising more than $52,000 in the latest reporting period and spent nearly all of it on television and ads in The Austin Chronicle to get voter approval for Propositions 1 and 2 on the November 6 ballot.
Both propositions would move the election of mayor and council members from May to be held during the November general elections. Prop 2 differs from Prop 1 by additionally lengthening terms from the current three years to four years; shortening the number of terms allowed from three terms to two terms; and requiring that staggered elections be held in even-numbered years.
Austin City Council Members Mike Martinez and Chris Riley were appointed to serve as treasurer and assistant treasurer, respectively, September 5. They were appointed by Austin Strategies political consultant Mark Nathan, who in July 2011 left his job as chief of staff for Mayor Lee Leffingwell.
Nathan answered The Austin Bulldog’s questions about the campaign via e-mail this evening.
