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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...

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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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10-1 Plan To Rule Council Elections

  • 10-1 Plan To Rule Council Elections
  •  
  • Both propositions for geographic representation pass
  • but grassroots group dominates election results
  •  
  • by Ken Martin
  • © The Austin Bulldog 2012
  • Posted Wednesday November 7, 2012 3:21am
  • (Updated Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 3:08pm)
  •  (Updated Wednesday, November 7, 2012, at 5:48pm.)

Austinites for Geographic Representation’s Proposition 3 won a thumping victory Tuesday with its plan for electing 10 council members from geographic districts and electing only the mayor at-large.

Gonzalo Barrientos“This is a historic moment,” said retired State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos, who chaired the 2012 Charter Revision Committee. He told the crowd made boisterous when the early voting results were announced, “I have never seen the people of Austin come together like they did on this campaign—that is truly American.”

Some five hours later the Travis County Clerk’s report posted at 12:17am this morning indicates that Proposition 3 got 142,615 145,910 votes (60.02 60.15 percent) while Proposition 4 (the 8-2-1 hybrid plan) got 118,855 121,366 votes (51.08 percent). (Updated Wednesday, November 7, 2012, at 5:48pm.) Because Proposition 3 got the most votes it will be implemented and Proposition 4 will be rejected.

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

Lee LeffingwellOn 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.

Prop 3 Fundraising Outpaces Prop 4

  • Prop 3 Fundraising Outpaces Prop 4
  •  
  • Financial support for 10-1 council elections
  • far outstrip dollars donated for 8-2-1 hybrid
  •  
  • by Ken Martin
  • © The Austin Bulldog 2012
  • Posted Monday, October 29, 2012 9:11pm

Austinites for Geographic Representation (AGR), proponents of Proposition 3’s 10-1 plan for electing council members, continues its lopsided advantage in fundraising compared with Austin Community for Change (AC4C), which is backing the 8-2-1 hybrid plan for electing council members.

Through the previous reporting period that ended September 29, AGR had raised a total of $69,793. That’s 15 times the $4,592 raised by AC4C.

Today’s reports indicated that AGR raised an additional $54,058, bringing its total to date to $123,851. AGR still has $13,856 left on hand for the sprint to the finish.

AC4C’s latest report indicates the 8-2-1 hybrid plan backers raised $14,600, bringing its total to date to $19,192. AC4C still had $1,227 on hand through today’s report.

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.

Mike MartinezChris RileyAustin 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.

Deferred Prosecution Ends Open Meetings Investigation

  • Deferred Prosecution Ends Open Meetings Investigation
  •  
  • Mayor and five current council members sign agreements
  • waiving the statute of limitations and requiring major reforms
  •  
  • by Ken Martin
  • © The Austin Bulldog 2012
  • Posted Wednesday, October 24, 2012 11:54pm

The Austin City Council Members Subject to the County Attorney’s Investigation: Riley, Cole, Shade, Leffingwell, Morrison, Spelman, Martinez

David EscamillaTravis County Attorney David Escamilla today issued a seven-page press release to announce the results of an investigation that began 21 months ago into the question of whether then-members of the Austin City Council violated the Texas Open Meetings Act.

 “This investigation was always about compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) and other legal standards requiring transparency at City Hall, which are crucial to ensuring a government that is accountable and responsive to its citizens,” Escamilla’s statement says.

The investigation found no evidence of corruption, but voluminous proof of communications among the mayor and council members by every means possible, the sum of which violate the criminal provisions of the Act.

The agreements signed by each elected official affirm long lists of detailed, specific communications among the council members that constitute probable cause. These include specific dates on which a quorum of the council communicated face-to-face, in phone calls, and via e-mail and text messages.

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Areas of Coverage

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