A lawsuit in a Travis County court aims to force Austin’s hand in rolling out a voter-backed plan to increase police oversight. Austin voters approved Proposition A in May by a four-to-one margin. The measure, known as the Austin Police Oversight Act, roundly defeated an opposing plan backed by the city’s police union. The APOA was set up […]
May 2023 election
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Austin passed a sweeping police oversight measure. Here’s what happens next.
Austin resoundingly approved an expansion of police oversight on Saturday. About 80 percent of voters in the city approved Proposition A, while the same percentage of voters shut down the opposing proposition, Prop B. Now comes the hard part. City leaders will have to fold Prop A’s expansion of the city’s Office of Police Oversight into a labor contract […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Election results: Voters overwhelmingly support civilian oversight of Austin police
Austin voters have decided the future of police oversight of the Austin Police Department. Proposition A, which would expand oversight, cruised to victory Saturday: 70 percent of voters supported the measure, according to unofficial voting numbers. Proposition B, which would curtail citizen oversight, was voted down by 80 percent of voters. The two propositions were […]
Posted inElections
May 2023 Austin election ballot propositions: Voter resource
Austin voters will soon decide the fates of two warring police oversight propositions on the May 6 ballot. The election arrives after more than a year of police labor contract negotiations with the Austin Police Association, which City Council scuttled, citing disapproval of former City Manager Spencer Cronk’s handling of the process and a desire […]
Posted inElections
Equity Action announces long list of supporters
Equity Action, the group that gathered signatures to put the original Austin Police Oversight Act on the May ballot, unveiled a list Tuesday of more than 100 community organizations and local leaders who endorse the APOA. The list includes Mayor Kirk Watson, former Mayor Steve Adler, and seven current City Council members including Mayor Pro […]
Posted inElections
Council sends police oversight act to voters, despite concerns about delay
Voters will decide in May whether to expand civilian oversight of the Austin Police Department after City Council declined to pass an initiative petition during a Sept. 15 meeting, with some members expressing concerns about potential legal challenges. The political action committee Equity Action submitted 33,000 petition signatures to the city clerk on Aug. 8 […]