District 3 gets into it… The gloves are off in the race for the District 3 City Council seat between siblings Susana Almanza and incumbent Pio Renteria. The long-combative candidates have taken their campaign charges to the digital and physical realms with charged attacks on each other’s level of community involvement and the contributions they’ve […]
November 2018 elections
Posted inParks
Even with new funding, parks board says city has a long way to go to repair pools
The year 1996 was the gold standard for Austin’s city Aquatics Division, according to Richard DePalma, a member of the Parks and Recreation Board. Since then, “We’ve just continued to shrink.” At the Dec. 4 meeting of the board, DePalma noted that the Parks and Recreation Department continually lists 40 pools on the books, but […]
Posted inElections
Candidates dissatisfied with polling places
After all the excitement about Austinites’ heavy participation in the Nov. 6 election, there has been a huge drop in the number of voters participating in runoff elections. News outlets across the state reported heavy turnout throughout the November election’s early voting period, beginning with the first day. Locally, 58.29 percent of Austin’s registered voters cast […]
Posted inElections
D1 forum looks at city’s role in affordability, health care, displacement
The runoff election to fill the seat of District 1 Council Member Ora Houston may well hinge on the approaches candidates Natasha Harper-Madison and Mariana Salazar take to persistent East Austin issues such as housing affordability, health care access and how the city can help longtime residents remain in the fast-growing area. At last week’s […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Lord of the files
Pig-headed politics… At a recent City Council work session, Council members were discussing proposed changes to the ordinance that dictates the extent to which people can exercise their First Amendment rights on library grounds. Specifically, what limits, if any, should be placed on those canvassing for candidates or gathering signatures for petitions outside of libraries. […]
Posted inElections
Renteria, Almanza show stark differences in D3 runoff forum
A recent forum between District 3 City Council candidates Pio Renteria and Susana Almanza – who are siblings – showed that the runoff election may center on how much one of Austin’s fastest-growing areas should change in the years to come. In Monday’s forum hosted by Austin’s League of Women Voters and the city of […]
Posted inElections
Ward, Ellis offer contrasting views
Early voting starts today in City Council District 8, as well as Districts 1 and 3, for the Dec. 11 runoff elections. Frank Ward, the outspoken Republican seeking to represent Southwest Austin’s District 8 on the Austin City Council, believes a substantial portion of Austin’s city government is broken. He also believes that the representative […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Which areas of Austin killed Props J and K?
Last week, Austin voters approved nine of 11 propositions on the ballot, including seven bond measures totaling $925 million, a proposition that made small spelling corrections to the city charter and a proposition authorizing City Council to set rules for removing members of the Planning Commission. All nine measures passed with at least two-thirds of […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Austin urbanists see support for denser housing in defeat of Prop J and Laura Morrison
Most mornings, Dave Sullivan bikes from his house in Clarksville to the University of Texas. He then hops on an express bus to his job as a researcher at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus. During the election season, his daily commute served as a sort of poll of voters – albeit with a minuscule sample […]
Posted inElections
Tovo campaign complains about PAC spending
District 9 Council Member Kathie Tovo’s re-election campaign filed an ethics complaint Monday against the Center for Austin’s Future Political Action Committee, a group supporting Danielle Skidmore, Tovo’s most significant opponent. The complaint alleges that the committee, which calls itself CAFPAC, violated a section of city code requiring such committees to file their treasurer designation […]
Posted inElections
District 1 runoff: Mariana Salazar and Natasha Harper-Madison
With less than a percentage point separating them, Natasha Harper-Madison and Mariana Salazar will advance to a December runoff election for East Austin’s District 1 seat. In the end, Salazar had 5,673 votes (or 26.01 percent), with Harper-Madison behind at 5,469 (25.07 percent). “I’m feeling grateful and empowered,” said Salazar at her election watch party. […]
Posted inElections
Tovo easily wins third term
Kathie Tovo will serve her third term on the Austin City Council after winning a relatively easy victory over three opponents on Tuesday, finishing with almost 53 percent of the vote. Her closest challenger, Danielle Skidmore, garnered less than 32 percent of the vote, with two other candidates each winning less than 10 percent of […]