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Eckhardt welcomes wave of political momentum in Travis County

For years, when County Judge Sarah Eckhardt would try to talk to the community about the justice system, someone would quickly change the subject to transportation or other unrelated issues. Although it accounts for 50 percent of the overall county…

Travis County • By Ryan Thornton • Jan 4, 2019

Auditors find misuse of city resources

An Austin Energy employee suspected of driving intoxicated in a deadly crash misused his city vehicle by driving to locations outside the scope of his work and misused work time to hunt on city property, according to an investigative report…

City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Jan 4, 2019

Travillion pushes for streamlined processes, services for the underserved

When Commissioner Jeff Travillion joined the Travis County Commissioners Court in 2017, he brought with him a rigorous attention to governmental process. “When I came here I said, ‘I don’t want to know that it runs; pull the hood up…

Travis County • By Ryan Thornton • Jan 3, 2019

Shea stays busy accepting what can’t be changed, fighting for what can

On June 24, 1988, this sentence appeared on the front page of The New York Times: “Higher temperatures can now be attributed to a long-expected global warming trend linked to pollution, a space agency scientist reported today.” The scientist was…

Travis County • By Ryan Thornton • Jan 3, 2019

Commissioner Daugherty still working to pave the road ahead

Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty is not in the business of telling Travis County residents what they should want or need. Instead, both on the dais and in conversation, the Precinct 3 commissioner, businessman and longtime Austin resident resists the…

Travis County • By Ryan Thornton • Jan 3, 2019

Troxclair looks forward to new adventures

After four years in office as the first Council member from Southwest Austin’s District 8, Ellen Troxclair is stepping down. But her departure from Council doesn’t mean we won’t see her at City Hall, she told the Austin Monitor during…

City Council • By Jo Clifton • Jan 2, 2019

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Ora Houston

Houston: Council should be nonpartisan

In her final speech from the Council dais, Ora Houston urged her colleagues to encourage diversity at every level and to put partisan issues aside. The city’s first representative of District 1 said it is important to look at and…

City Council • By Jo Clifton • Jan 2, 2019

Paige Ellis represents sharp political shift for Southwest Austin's District 8

Paige Ellis, the incoming City Council member for District 8, has very different political views from her predecessor, Ellen Troxclair, who spent the last two years as the only Republican on Council. Ellis, who made her affiliation with the Democratic…

City Charter • By Jack Craver • Dec 28, 2018

Tovo to keep focus on housing, homelessness issues in 2019

Questions of where and how people live in Austin – specifically in District 9 – remained a front-of-mind issue for Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo in 2018. Whether she was on the City Council dais or involved in campaign events…

City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 28, 2018

Alison Alter relishes academic approach to government

Two years into her tenure on City Council, District 10 Council Member Alison Alter said she remains focused on the reasons she ran for the seat against former Council Member Sheri Gallo. “I didn’t run as a political insider, nor…

City Council • By Jack Craver • Dec 28, 2018

Ann Kitchen focused on 'fixing people's problems'

City Council Member Ann Kitchen is the first member of the 10-1 Council to win re-election unopposed. “I was surprised,” Kitchen said of her lack of opponent in this year’s election. “But I was certainly happy about that. I’m pleased…

City Council • By Jack Craver • Dec 27, 2018

Flannigan reflects on 'crazy, crazy year'

Council Member Jimmy Flannigan believes City Council had a lot more to deal with in 2018 than it should have. Council welcomed a new city manager, found new chiefs for the police and fire departments, engaged in an extended dispute…

City Council • By Jack Craver • Dec 27, 2018

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