PAC seeks to stop Precourt deal

A new political action committee has made its way onto the Austin stage. Austin for a Better Future PAC registered with the Office of the City Clerk on June 21, with conservative activist Bill Worsham as its campaign treasurer. Worsham, who ran unsuccessfully for the District 10 Council seat in 2014, and opposed a number of bond propositions, including rail and money for the downtown courthouse, did not return a call requesting comment. But his PAC is aligned with people who are opposing the proposal to allow Precourt Sports Ventures, owners of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew SC, to lease McKalla Place from the city for $1 per year. We found a door hanger on a District 5 house alleging that the Austin City Council “wants to give away more than $1 billion.” PolitiFact Texas rates that claim as a falsehood of the Pants on Fire variety. Nevertheless, this bold assertion is evidently attracting some followers – the same people who don’t understand, for example, that the City Council could not in fact spend money on “improving Barton Hills Elementary School.” The Austin Monitor checked with Council Member Ann Kitchen’s office late Wednesday and learned that they had received eight to 10 calls, mostly negative, about the Precourt proposal. An aide to Council Member Pio Renteria said most of their constituents were emailing about the proposal and that they had received perhaps as many as 200 emails in the last few days.