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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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Loud Rally Follows Final Council Vote For 8-2-1

Loud Rally Follows Final Council Vote For 8-2-1

AGR Cries Foul Over Work Session Votes for Hybrid;
Mayor Leffingwell Said Votes Driven by Ballot Deadline

by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2012
Posted Tuesday, August 7, 2012 9:07pm

Bill Aleshire meets the press at a noon rally held by Austinites for Geographic Representation

A high-noon rally by a loud crowd of Austinites for Geographic Representation (AGR) pulled no punches in criticizing the Austin City Council for casting a final vote today to put the 8-2-1 plan for electing council members on the same ballot as the 10-1 plan the group got on the ballot through petition.

AGR’s main complaints are that there was no groundswell of support for the 8-2-1 plan; that it goes against the recommendations of the council-appointed 2012 Charter Revision Committee, which recommended the 10-1 plan; and that it adds confusion and competition for voter approval of any form of geographic representation. Previous opportunities to enact some form of geographic representation have been voted down six times between 1973 and 2002.

A secondary issue for AGR is that only the first reading of the ordinance to put the 8-2-1 plan on the ballot was voted on in a regular City Council meeting, while the last two readings were voted on in council work sessions.

Two hours before the press conference, during the morning portion of today’s council work session, Mayor Lee Leffingwell announced that the votes taken in work session were driven by the deadline to approve measures to go on the ballot.

Council Backers of 8-2-1 Plan Accused of Self-Interest

Council Backers of 8-2-1 Plan Accused of Self-Interest

But Facts Don’t Seem to Substantiate Such a Claim, as
Related Actions May Bar Most Incumbents From Reelection

by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2012
Posted Monday, August 6, 2012 9:15 pm

Lee LeffingwellAt the August 2 City Council meeting, what was expected to be a pro-forma exercise in putting on the November 6 ballot a proposition qualified by citizen petition drive was sidetracked by some heated words aimed at Mayor Lee Leffingwell.

But where there is heat there is sometimes also light.

The light was shed on the question of whether the five City Council members who favor the 8-2-1 plan (Mike Martinez and Bill Spelman opposed) are acting out of self-interest to increase their chances of staying in office.

The reality is that a separate proposed charter amendment—which the council already approved to go on the November ballot—if approved by voters would disqualify all but one incumbent from running for reelection (more about that later).

City Manager’s Annual Review Postponed

City Manager’s Annual Review Postponed

Mark Ott’s Performance Review Now Set for August 16

by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2012
Posted Thursday, August 2, 2012 8:43pm

Marc OttAustin City Manager Marc Ott didn’t get his annual performance review today as scheduled.

Shortly after noon, Mayor Lee Leffingwell read the agenda items to be discussed in a closed-door executive session. The council meeting agenda was posted for the executive session to include Ott’s performance. But Leffingwell announced that Ott’s review was being postponed at the request of Council Member Bill Spelman.

Spelman had arrived in council chambers and took his seat on the dais shortly after 10:30am, about 20 minutes after the meeting started. And Spelman was present preceding the mayor’s announcement of the postponement.

City Manager Faces Crucial Annual Review

Bulldog Background Investigation Comes as Marc Ott’s Performance Gets Council Scrutiny

8-2-1 Plan Certain to Go on Ballot

8-2-1 Plan Near-Certain to Go on Ballot

City Council Votes on Second Reading
to Put Competing Election Plan on Ballot


by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2012
Posted July 31, 2012 2:35pm

The Austin City Council in today’s work session voted 5-2 (Council Members Mike Martinez and Bill Spelman opposed) to put the 8-2-1 plan for electing council members on the November ballot.

Sheryl ColeA five-vote majority is sufficient to pass any measure on the council’s agenda on all three readings for final approval, and dispense with further consideration. Today, at Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole’s request, the vote was limited to second reading only.

It now appears to be a foregone conclusion that at least four votes in favor of the 8-2-1 plan will be cast on third reading, which Mayor Lee Leffingwell said he anticipated would be scheduled for an August 7 work session.

That will set up head-to-head competition on the November ballot between the 8-2-1 plan and the 10-1 plan, which already garnered sufficient signatures to go on the ballot.

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Project Connect

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