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Austin City Manager: Dallas discard vs Austin retread

Council members make policy. The city manager’s job is to implement those policies. A great city manager can get that done and keep the ship of state sailing smoothly. A good city manager can get most assignments done and avoid...

Will lawsuit blow up Project Connect train tracks?

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit Dirty Martin’s et al v. Mayor Kirk Watson et al claim they’re victims of a bait-and-switch scheme because Project Connect will deliver improvements vastly inferior to what voters were promised when they approved Proposition A...

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Postcard Wars Down to the Wire

In the waning days of the mayoral runoff campaigns to decide who will lead the first 10-1 Austin City Council with nine brand-new members, the main benefactor may be the printers and the U.S. Postal Service.

Firefighters Back Martinez With $170,000

Bob Nicks, president of the Austin Firefighters Association, raised eyebrows in late October when he said that his political action committees had a $200,000 campaign budget for the mayor and council elections.

New PAC’s Postcard Slams Martinez

 New PAC’s Postcard Slams Martinez

Progress for Austin hits Martinez for
Open Meetings Act violations, legal fees

by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog
Posted Thursday December 4, 2014 9:42pm
updated Friday December 5, 2014 3:16pm

Mike MartinezA postcard funded by a new general-purpose political action committee (PAC) hit mailboxes today, aimed to undercut support for mayoral candidate Mike Martinez by pointing out he was part of the City Council investigated for violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act.

The Progress for Austin PAC’s postcard—which cost nearly $20,000—also attacks Council Member Martinez for getting taxpayers to pay the private lawyer who defended him in the ensuing investigation of the violations by the Travis County attorney and for his rash statements in e-mails, for which he apologized when the e-mails became public.

The Austin Bulldog broke the story of the Open Meetings violations on January 25, 2011; filed public information requests for e-mails exchanged by the mayor and council members; and sued when these elected officials refused to turn over e-mails about city business they exchanged on private accounts, resulting in the release of those communications. The Bulldog also broke the story that the City spent $157,636 to defend the elected officials during the 21-month criminal investigation, including $24,657.50 for attorney Joseph Turner, who defended Martinez.

The postcard features a large photo of Martinez being quoted in the Austin American-Statesman of March 11, 2011, based on his letter to the community, in which he apologized for the derogatory statements he had made in the e-mails: “I have eroded public trust and confidence in my ability to be a leader in this community.”

Bo Delp, deputy campaign manager for Martinez, commented on the mailer. He told The Austin Bulldog, “This demonstrates that Steve Adler and his allies are out of ideas for how to address the issues that are most important to middle-class families in Austin and quite frankly this distortion of Mike's unimpeachable career as a public servant and firefighter is disappointing.”

Referring to the Open Meetings Act violations, Delp said, “My understanding is that Mayor (Lee) Leffingwell was also associated with this particular process, and if Steve Adler thinks it’s such a terrible thing, I assume he will be refusing Leffingwell’s endorsement.”

New PAC in town

Fair Campaign Funds Allocated Unfairly

 Fair Campaign Funds Allocated Unfairly

Two of the three candidates who split the money
may not be entitled, city rules are in question

Investigative Report by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2014
Posted Monday December 1, 2014 5:17pm

Jannette GoodallThe Austin City Clerk deemed three candidates in the City Council runoffs eligible for equal shares of the $83,965.74 held in the Austin Fair Campaign Finance Fund, which provides partial public support for qualifying candidates. The Fund is built through lobbyist registration fees, donations, money collected for violations of campaign contracts, and candidate filing fees.

District 3 candidates (and siblings) Susana Almanza and Sabino Renteria and District 7 candidate Leslie Pool were notified November 14 they would each get checks for $27,988.58, City Clerk Jannette Goodall told The Austin Bulldog. They picked up the checks between November 18 and 21, she said.

None of the other candidates involved in runoffs for mayor and council signed the voluntary Austin Fair Campaign Contract.

Susana AlmanzaSabino RenteriaAlmanza and Renteria, however, may not have been entitled to those funds because they signed the Austin Fair Campaign Contract too late, according to one City Code provision.

To be eligible for a share of the Austin Fair Campaign Finance Fund, City Code Section 2-2-11 requires that candidates must sign the Austin Fair Campaign Contract agreeing to abide by limitations on contributions and expenditures and to participate in a series of candidate forums.

Section 2-2-11(B) states “A candidate must personally sign the campaign contract the earlier of (emphasis added):

(1) 30 days after he or she becomes a candidate under the Texas Election Code; or

(2) the date the candidate files for a place on the ballot.

Goodall said she had consulted with the Law Department and Ethics Review Commission and followed the same procedure used in past elections to disburse money to these three candidates based on the dates they filed for a place on the ballot.

“We had always used the ballot application deadline as a trigger and we kept with that date as well for this election,” Goodall said.

Tradition trumped City Code

Downtown Alliance Rail Spending Questioned

Downtown Alliance Rail Spending Questioned

 Civic activist Rodgers warns City of Austin not to
reimburse $440,000 in Let’s Go Austin contributions

by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2014
Posted Tuesday November 25, 2014 10:09pm

Brian RodgersCivic activist Brian Rodgers sent a letter to City Manager Marc Ott and other city officials today to urge the city not to reimburse the DAA for political contributions it made to a pro-rail campaign as such payments might entail a “potential criminal violation.”

The Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) contributed a total of $440,000 to the Let’s Go Austin Political Action Committee (PAC) to help fund the pro-rail campaign, according to campaign finance reports filed by the PAC.

The November 4 election sought approval for a $600 million bond for an urban rail starter system if the city also provided $400 million for roadway improvement projects. Voters soundly defeated the $1 billion initiative by a vote of 108,396 (57.2 percent) to 81,107 (42.8 percent).

Charlie BettsDAA Executive Director Charlie Betts said he has been with the DAA for 17 years and this is the first time a question has been raised about the organization making political contributions.

Betts said, “We have contributed to issue-oriented PACs many times in the past, such as the Health District, the last two transportation bond issues, and the PAC to support the last affordable housing bonds campaign. We have never contributed to a political candidate.”

Bill Aleshire“That doesn’t make it legal, it just means they didn’t get caught,” said Austin attorney Bill Aleshire of Riggs Aleshire & Ray PC, who assisted Rodgers in drafting the letter to city officials. “The fact they got away with it in the past doesn’t make it any less of an issue.” (Disclosure: Aleshire is one of the attorneys who represents The Austin Bulldog.)

How DAA is funded

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