Elections

At 12:10am this morning, after taking nearly three hours of public testimony, the Austin City Council voted 5-2 (Mayor Lee Leffingwell and Council Member Bill Spelman opposed) to put on the ballot the exact plan long advocated by Austinites for Geographic Representation. The five votes in favor meant the motion made by Council Member Mike Martinez and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole passed on all three readings.

The proposal calls for 10 council members to be elected from geographic districts, only the mayor to be elected at large, and an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission to draw a council districtricting plan that the council would have no choice but to adopt.

At 12:17am the council voted 4-3 (Cole, Martinez and Spelman opposed) to also put on the ballot the 8-2-1 plan. But because the motion did not get five votes, it only passed on first reading and will have to come back to the council—which doesn't meet again until August 2—for further consideration.

The 8-2-1 plan, sponsored by the mayor and Council Member Chris Riley, would have the mayor and two council members to be elected at-large and eight council members to be elected from geographic districts. This proposal does not include an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. Instead,according to the draft ordinance for this agenda item, “The boundaries of geographical single-member council districts shall be drawn by ordinance from time to time.”  Meaning the council districts could be drawn in such a way that the City Council would decide the boundaries.

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.

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.

Although the City Council could wait until August to set the ballot for the City Charter revisions to be put before voters in November, action is already moving forward.

Seven items were on the April 26 council meeting agenda that dealt with recommendations offered by the 2012 Charter Revision Committee. Four were passed, two were postponed, and one was withdrawn in the face of strong opposition and advice from outside counsel.