Energy

Districts 6 & 10 Clean Energy Forum

First of a half-dozen opportunities for
candidates to outline energy strategies

by Joseph Caterine
© The Austin Bulldog 2014
Posted Tuesday September 18, 2014 2:41pm

A few dozen people braved the rainy weather last Friday night to attend the first in a series of City Council candidate forums about one of the City's most valuable assets: Austin Energy. The low turnout and rainfall did not dampen the lively discussion of the issues.

District 6 and 10 candidates mingled with district residents on the second floor of the Rissman Fellowship Hall at First Presbyterian Church, surrounded by darkened stain-glass windows and vacant chairs.

Phillip Martin, deputy director at Progress Texas, an organization that promotes progressive ideals, welcomed attendees as the moderator of the event and emphasized that this was a forum, not a debate. Candidates would have a chance to make one-minute opening and closing speeches, and they would have to answer a series of questions relating to Austin Energy with varying time limits.

District 6 candidates

The District 6 candidates started the opening remarks. Matt Stillwell, whose campaign website states that he founded a marketing firm and an insurance company,talked about living in all the different parts of Austin over the course of his life, and his service in various community groups, including the Oversight Committee of the Round Rock Independent School District, and his neighborhood's Architectural Control Committee.

Jimmy Flannigan said the relationships he has built through working with the Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce made him stand out among the other candidates.

District 10 candidates

About 11,800 words

We are approaching what's shaping up to be a global crisis. The supplies of oil and natural gas are dwindling rapidly. What's left will be of lower quality, harder to extract, and increasingly expensive. The higher cost will be reflected in every facet of our lives, including our utility bills, the price of gasoline, and the goods and services we buy. Meanwhile world population growth spirals upward unabated, creating demand for ever more energy. China, for example, has just come into the automobile age as cars replace bicycles in Beijing.