We tepidly endorse incumbent Sabino "Pio" Renteria for D3. Over four years, Renteria has been a collaborative force and managed to set in motion several affordable housing projects, which he hopes to see completed over his next term — as do we. But since the district has become ground zero for Austin's displacement problems, it's frustrating that the six folks vying for the seat — including Renteria — all leave something to be desired.
PODER director Susana Almanza , Renteria's sister and most recognized opponent, appears to be going through the motions on this second attempt at an election. Renteria is amiable and entrenched within the southeast district, a familiar face and known quantity throughout the neighborhoods. But while he says he's committed to those neighborhoods, his track record has been less than stellar in fighting for more and deeper affordable housing, an issue that's popping up again with the "New Domain" at Riverside and Pleasant Valley, where — among other places — we'd like to see more conviction.
With lone conservative Ellen Troxclair set to depart, voters have the power to hand the southwest district to a progressive champion. That means first giving a hard pass to Frank Ward , the Troxclair-endorsed candidate who appears to match her anti-Austin, anti-regulation, and tax and spending rhetoric.
The three remaining candidates are all relatively progressive and share in their passion for the district and interest in environmental policy and advocacy. Though we recognize longtime district resident DePalma's attention to seniors, affordability, the environment, as well as his call for stronger district visibility, noting scant pools and area libraries, we prefer Levinski for District 8, noting his institutional knowledge of City Hall and shorter expected learning curve than his competitors.
Mayor Pro Tem Tovo has already served two terms on City Council, making her the longest tenured member in addition to being one of the most committed. And while she may not possess the front-facing personality to serve as mayor a position she likely does not covet , her diligent work ethic and steady approach to city policy makes her an ideal council member for a city such as Austin. With that in mind, she filed the necessary paperwork to run for a third term.
A vote for Casar is a vote for effective city government. It should come as no surprise that the Chronicle strongly urges voters to elect Jimmy Flannigan. When not abstaining from votes, D6 incumbent Don Zimmerman remains blindly tethered to anti-tax, anti-government ideology, and often votes against meaningful projects like affordable housing and much-needed social services.
Should we go on? Frankly, we believe Zimmerman is unfit to lead. But make no mistake: We're not choosing Flannigan because he's the only alternative. Since his defeat in , Flannigan has proven himself a dedicated district leader, hosting his own community meetings and lobbying to include Anderson Mill Road on the Mobility Bond.
He's measured, well-versed, in tune with the needs of his Northwest Austin district, and ready to compromise when necessary — one of the many attributes that distinguish him from his competitor.
In a contentious race, experience is the deciding factor. Incumbent Leslie Pool has worked on city boards and commissions since the Eighties. Pool stepped down from the BCRC after she was elected to Council in , but maintained a keen interest in the project and keeping it to a reasonable scale. With her ANC background and experience, Morrison has listened thoughtfully to the concerns of Austinites in every part of town and helped them to advance their interests.
She has earned a reputation for fairness, balance, and respecting multiple points of view. Under her leadership, ANC maintained its impassioned, inclusive activism and increased the voice of Eastside neighborhoods while curtailing its tendency to reactionary NIMBYism. Morrison's leadership on the city's McMansion task force as well as the Design Standards Mixed Use Ordinance demonstrated her talent for tailoring city policies to reflect valid citizen concerns.
Galindo espouses a comprehensive growth plan which would contain sprawl along the SH corridor , grounded in the principles he espouses in his admittedly recent New Urbanism consulting work, a perspective developed in his four years as a Planning commissioner.
His self-proclaimed "independent" political affiliation and GOP history have caused backlash among orthodox Democrats, but in nonpartisan city elections, we're not terribly abashed by his lack of ideological purity.
However, with a Downtown development-focused mayor, flanked by a largely deferential council, some of us question whether Galindo's primary focus on Downtown, development, and regional planning offers the right balance for this particular council. We know that better alternatives to armed police response exist for preventing violence and helping Austinites in crisis.
Those alternatives will disappear if we don't say no, loudly, to the dishonest fearmongering of grifters who want Austin to keep shoveling tax money into the noisy, dirty old engine that makes the "Back the Blue!
You're being asked to vote on this now because this city-owned parcel on S. Lakeshore Boulevard home to the Parks and Recreation Department's maintenance yard was designated as public parkland decades ago. It's never been open to the public, and there's no pressing need for it to be parkland now; it's flanked by some of the most heavily used elements of Austin's park system the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail's boardwalk segment, the Krieg Field sports complex, and the Roy G.
If an adjoining landowner to a public parcel — which in this case happens to be Oracle Corporation — that wasn't designated as parkland offered a swap that would leave the city with more money and more land than it started with, it's really hard to imagine any City Council saying no. The fact that this is going to the voters, even if that's the fruit of statutes and policy choices adopted before most Austinites were born, makes it more transparent than many deals the city has gotten itself into.
So far, that scrutiny has yet to reveal any obvious downsides or any alternative scenarios that we should prefer to the one on offer which is, even if Prop B prevails, still not a done deal. There's no need to stand in its way. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. Support the Chronicle.
November General and Special Elections. Information is power. Support the free press, so we can support Austin. November 3 General Election Endorsements Condensed.
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