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Dominic Chavez, an outspoken critic of city spending and a former Real Estate Council of Austin government liaison, said Tuesday that he will challenge City Council Member Bill Spelman in the May election.
In an interview with the American-Statesman, Chavez presented himself as a voice for suburban voters dissatisfied with the direction of City Hall. He said his campaign will focus on economic development, public safety and Austin's rising cost of living.
"I know it will be an uphill climb, but I know so many people who are so frustrated with the growing cost of living in Austin," Chavez said. "The City Council isn't addressing the big picture because it spends so much time squabbling over things that only matter to small interest groups. How many people really sit there during their morning commute and think, 'Will Austin finally ban plastic bags?'"
Spelman is seeking a third term and has at times irritated his base of environmental activists by, for instance, voting last year to continue construction on a controversial water-treatment plant. But Spelman will probably remain the choice of that influential voting bloc. Much of the city's business community also appears comfortable with him.
That means Chavez probably will have to work to win the support (and dollars) of the city's politically active business owners and will be courting residents who do not usually vote in city elections.
Chavez does have a likely constituency among critics of the city's spending habits and transportation initiatives, such as former Texas Monthly publisher Mike Levy. The two helped organize opposition in 2010 to the city's Proposition 1, a $90 million mix of transportation projects that passed comfortably, despite their objections that too little of the money would go to roads.
In a lawsuit last year, Chavez, Levy and political consultant Alfred Stanley alleged that Austin has been granting tax breaks to historical landmark homes in violation of state law; in exchange for dropping the suit, the city agreed to require the owners of historical homes to justify each year why they need a tax break to preserve their properties' historic character.
um yea, as soon as I read that he opposed the transportation bonds I made my decision and I will vote for Spelman. He is the interesting one in the council in that while he won election the first times around from the urban core neighborhoods as well as the ANC and he does at times side with the NIMBY crowd, he also has made some very good decisions as well. He is not a closed minded only sides with the NIMBYs council member by all means and it was his work with the people bringing Formula One to Austin that he was able to make sure the circuit became a world leader in Green sustainability. He fits well with Austin and even though there have been some decisions I have not been happy about with him voting he is overall no doubt the better person for the job and has done it well.
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"GOOD TIMES!!!" Jerri Blank (Strangers With Candy)
And so it begins... Bridget Shea signs are beginning to pop up. For those who are voting Leffingwell please get a sign and let your neighborhood know who you support.
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"GOOD TIMES!!!" Jerri Blank (Strangers With Candy)
It is expected that Leffingwell and Mike Martinez, as well as Sheryl Cole to hold their seats though Bill Spelman may have to deal with a runoff election.
When I say expected to that does not mean a for sure thing, once again city elections so far continue to have a low turnout. You can expect the NIMBYS to be coming out in full force so if you have not voted yet, do so on Election day. Early voting ended today.
Bridget Shea has ran a very negative campaign and if she becomes mayor expect her negative and pushy stance on urban development to follow into her policies. Fact is she had to put $40,000 of her own money into her campaign to get the TV commercial that is currently running which shows overall low confidence in her since she has not been able to raise that money through public donations.
Mike Martinez looks like he will have the best results in votes as he has led a very proactive campaign and his twitter feeds have been constantly updated as well as responding to twitter replies including mine.
Sheryl Cole is lucky (if you want to look at it that way) to have the ANC endorse her I believe because she is the only African-American on the council and they dont want to seem anti-diversity. Her views on urban development including her strong support of the Waller Creek re-development do not fit with the ANCs positions.
Bill Spelman has multiple opponents but only one has been posing a challenge and that would be Tina Cannon. I was definitely interested in her as she seems more pro urban development but she has not done a good job as far as I could see in putting out her positions city wide so because I still dont know a lot about what she would do policy wise and the fact that she has some irrelevant youtube vids making fun of Spelman which I think is pointless and does not bring any policy positions, I have endorsed Bill Spelman.
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"GOOD TIMES!!!" Jerri Blank (Strangers With Candy)
Just to make JDawgboy happy to know, I did vote yesterday. Even without our computer to check where to vote, I looked up the number on my registration card to find out where, and of course it was right in my neighborhood (at Odom). I was determined yesterday to not let Bridgid Shea get away with suggesting the City had sold off Town Lake land to developers.
Just to make JDawgboy happy to know, I did vote yesterday. Even without our computer to check where to vote, I looked up the number on my registration card to find out where, and of course it was right in my neighborhood (at Odom). I was determined yesterday to not let Bridgid Shea get away with suggesting the City had sold off Town Lake land to developers.
I went to a party Saturday night and besides food and drink the election results were a small part of the blah blah that transpired...It was easy to see a pattern of voting in the attendees...The men were overwhelmingly for LL while the women were heavily pro-shea...The women gave virtually the same reason for this voting pattern....They said Austin was growing too fast and they felt worried about themselves and their children...To them, big cities are too "scary." The men , instead, saw the growth as a pathway to future opportunities..
I went to a party Saturday night and besides food and drink the election results were a small part of the blah blah that transpired...It was easy to see a pattern of voting in the attendees...The men were overwhelmingly for LL while the women were heavily pro-shea...The women gave virtually the same reason for this voting pattern....They said Austin was growing too fast and they felt worried about themselves and their children...To them, big cities are too "scary." The men , instead, saw the growth as a pathway to future opportunities..
That antecdotal survey sums up the diifferences between Men's and Women's thinking pretty well.
When are people going to learn no one can stop or even slow growth in Austin? lol. It just can't be done.
All that can be done is to manage how that growth happens, and where it happens. Trying to stop or slow it, only leads to poor growth development and planning. To high COL, and forcing people further and further away from the city creating more sprawl, traffic, and infrastructure cost.
Just very glad Leffingwell and Martinez won reelection. Heck, Spelman too. I was worried that the F1 thing might get them, it's just such a lightning rod for the anti-everything hater types.
The way I see it, you don't changes coaches when you're the reigning national champs. Here's to 3 more years!
I actually voted for Spelman. He's on the Council and doesn't even accept a salary. That's pretty damn cool if you ask me. Plus the bicyclists' association supported him.
Want to scare yourselves...Skip the vampire movies and go to the" Better Austin Today " website....It will send a chill up your spine...
Folks, we are in a war!!!!
Austin City Council begins analyzing potential 2012 bond election projects
by Sara Behunek
June 27, 2012
City of Austin staff presented six bond packages ranging from $200 million to $575 million to City Council on June 26, one of which may end up being voted upon by constituents in November.
Although the packages—composed of projects to improve roads, buildings and city programs, among others—varied in size, they for the most part allocated a proportionate amount of money to the four project categories identified by city staff: affordable housing, city facilities, parks and open space, and transportation.
Affordable housing was given 15 percent to 19 percent of the overall funds, city facilities 17 percent to 20 percent, parks and open space 26 percent to 28 percent and transportation 35 percent to 40 percent.
The packages presented to City Council were:
$575 million, the recommended package of the Bond Election Advisory Task Force, a 15-member citizen group appointed by City Council members;
$400 million, a smaller package compiled by the task force;
$400 million, compiled by the city’s Capital Planning Office, a new office created to manage the city’s capital needs;
$385 million, recommended by City Manager Marc Ott;
$300 million, compiled by the Capital Planning Office;
and $200 million, also compiled by the Capital Planning Office.
Want to scare yourselves...Skip the vampire movies and go to the" Better Austin Today " website....It will send a chill up your spine...
Folks, we are in a war!!!!
Laura Pressley, if you look her up, is a Republican. She's running to beat Mike Martinez.
Austin City Council tackling different geographic representation plans
by Mitzie Stelte
Emotions ran high at a June 26 Austin City Council work session as members debated competing geographic representation plans for electing city officials.
June 27, 2012
Two proposed plans have been set on the June 28 City Council agenda, including Mayor Lee Leffingwell's 8-2-1 plan—a hybrid system comprised of eight single-member districts, two at-large members and one at-large mayor. Councilman Mike Martinez has proposed a 10-1 plan with 10 single-member districts and one at-large mayor—the recommendation passed by the 2012 Charter Revision Committee.
Council has until Aug. 20 to place charter revision proposals on the ballot for the November election.
While Martinez supports single-member districts, he cited concerns regarding the revision's recommendation of a citizens' independent redistricting council tasked to redraw district maps because of possible legal issues. He suggested council maintain the ability to ratify the citizen-designed plan if necessary.
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2012 Austin Election Thread
Even without our computer to check where to vote, I looked up the number on my registration card to find out where, and of course it was right in my neighborhood (at Odom). I was determined yesterday to not let Bridgid Shea get away with suggesting the City had sold off Town Lake land to developers.
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