Today: Austin City Council Votes on More or Less Democracy

by: Katherine Haenschen

Thu Oct 06, 2011 at 09:26 AM CDT

Every day, it appears that more and more Austinites are coming out in favor of November 2012 elections, while the folks supporting the May date remain curiously silent, or wrapped in tortured logic that doesn't reflect the legal realities or progressive leadership towards increasing transparency or civic participation.

During the first vote two weeks ago, Council Members Cole, Morrison, Spelman and Tovo voted in favor of May, thus keeping in place the barriers to voting that mire our municipal turnout at approximately 10% of registered voters.

Today, Council takes its second reading on this (three readings are required on 4-3 votes), and tomorrow the third will take place at a special called meeting starting at 1:30 p.m.

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Here's what you can do to support November elections:

1. Email our entire City Council in support of November elections. Click the link for an easy form to contact all of them at once.

2. Sign on to a letter from leading Democratic activists supporting a move to November 2012 City Council elections.

3. Come on down to City Hall and speak. You need to be signed up by 10 a.m. to speak today; be there by 1:30 p.m. tomorrow (Friday) to speak tomorrow. You can also come sign in for or against it at any time today or tomorrow.

Here's some background and what you should watch for during today's meeting.

* Mayor Leffingwell has asked the Travis County Elections Division to work with the City Clerk and prepare a cost estimate of Austin holding a stand-alone May election, now that ACC has pulled out for November. AISD votes on Monday to either spend over $300,000 for their share of a May election, or to also move to November. A stand-alone City of Austin election looks more and more likely, given the cash-strapped school district. Can Austin afford upwards of $1,000,000 for this election when we're closing parks and cutting social services contracts?

* During the first meeting, CM Spelman suggested November voters were too "uninformed" and "overwhelmed" to know how to vote for City Council, preferring instead the hyper-active May electorate, who "hold forums, send questionnaires," etc. This statement greatly riled minority leaders and activists, who could easily infer from Spelman's statement that the more-diverse November electorate was somehow "unqualified" to be voting for City Council.

* Long-time campaign consultant Dean Rindy echoed the "uninformed voter" myth, suggesting that it's just too hard to educate a larger electorate. That's wrong, and it's a strawman argument designed to distract from the facts.

* Old-school campaign guru and ACC professor Peck Young has also come out strongly in favor of November elections. The man that local TV goes to every cycle to break down City Council election returns stated plainly on KXAN, "The four [for May] have decided that one of them, or two of them, want to be elected mayor, and they don't think they have a shot beating an incumbent mayor in an election with high turnout."

Below the jump, we've got everything else you need to know going into today's meeting, which starts at 10:00 a.m. in City Hall. Expect this item to come up quickly, after the "consent agenda" of non-controversial actions.  

Facts in favor of November:

• A November 2012 election will result in higher turnout, engaging more Austinites in the process of choosing our local government. Right now, approximately 10% of City voters cast a ballot for Council. A November 2012 election would increase that to over 50%.
  
• A November 2012 election will have an electorate that is more demographically similar to the population of Austin as a whole -- more women, younger voters, and minorities will participate.
  
• A November 2012 election will save the City over $500,000 in funds during a very difficult budget cycle. Now that ACC has pulled out of the May 2012 elections, the cost to the City will be even higher to Austin taxpayers.
  
• This is a one-time move to help comply with new Federal voting guidelines pertaining to military and overseas ballots. The Austin voters will likely be able to permanently move elections to Novembers in the 2012 November charter amendment election.
  
• Speaking of the charter, SB 100 -- the bill that prompted this debate -- explicitly enables this one-time move without violating our charter. Any Council Member who says otherwise is lying. The bill also enables extension of term limits without vacating officeholders' seats.
  

Really in listening to the debate, it comes down to whether or not we want our leaders to stand on the side of increasing participation and supporting the basic aims of democracy, or if preserving the status quo (and a few political careers) is more important. Council Member Spelman said in this Tuesday's work session, "Just because we can doesn't mean we should." Many Austinites would argue instead that the opportunity to increase turnout, diversify the electorate, and save a boat-load of money are great reasons to take the Legislature up on this opportunity.

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Events that led up to today's second reading:

* Two weeks ago, Council voted 4-3 against moving elections to November, over the testimony from our Travis County elections division, and broad community input in favor of November.
* Last Friday, after 5:00 p.m., the City Clerk's office posted notice of an Action Item on this at Tuesday's work session, sponsored by CMs Spelman and Morrison. The reason was apparently CM Cole's trip to Africa, since she won't be on the dais for the regular October 20th meeting, and is a crucial 4th vote for May elections.
* During the work session, Mayor Leffingwell called a Point of Order on the item, and after stating the lack of precedent for taking such a vote in a work session, CM Spelman rightfully withdrew the item, after every Council Member tripped over themselves to make sure citizen testimony was heard and the "beat a dead horse" metaphor was, well, beaten like a dead horse.

Citizen input during that work session was broadly in favor of November elections. Note that citizen communication or input in a work session is not the norm, as KT outlined in this post.

Former State Rep Glen Maxey spoke in favor of the one-time move to November. He equated this effort to keep the suppressed May turnout to national efforts by Republicans to raise barriers to the ballot box. Oak Hill neighborhood activist Sandy Baldridge also spoke out against the rushed process -- "the fact that an important item such as this is being bantered around in a work group" made her head spin, stating, "The constitution is not intended to protect your own political careers." Activist Gus Pena also came out to express concern about the process, noting that a group of East Side organizers only heard about the work session the night prior, and also voicing his support for the May date. Finally, Mike Rollings from the Austin Chamber of Commerce also spoke in favor of increasing turnout, noting the GACC's efforts during past cycles to actually encourage more people to vote.

It will be an interesting meeting. You can watch remotely on Channel 6, which also live streams here: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/channel6/

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Previously On Burnt Orange Report:

• 75% of Austinites Prefer November for 2012 City Election
• Primaries, Run-Offs, Municipals, Oh My! -- Austin's Spring 2012 Election Calendar
• Austin Democracy, the Machine, and the Future of Our City
• Austin Hispanic Leaders Hold Press Conference Supporting November Elections
• Austin Municipal Elections and the "Uninformed Voter" Canard
• Clarifying Three Points on the Austin Municipal Elections Debate
• A Vote Against Democracy in Austin

Elsewhere On the Web:

• 3 Reasons to Watch City Council This Week, Austin Post
• Dear Austin City Council, Letters from Texas
• Austin Considers Moving Election Date, Austin Business Journal
• Austin Latinos Fight to Reschedule Elections, The News Taco
• Austin Considers Changing Election Date, KXAN
• City Elections - Nov v May, Eugene Sepulveda, Community Matters
• Moving City Elections from May to November, Mayor Leffingwell's Blog
• Point Austin: Voter Suppression Made Easy, Austin Chronicle
• City Hall Hustle: Rock The Vote ... Not, Austin Chronicle
• Austin will keep May elections for now, Off The Kuff
• Austin council keeps next city election in May, Austin American-Statesman
• The Daily Hustle 9/23/11, Austin Chronicle