Lee Leffingwell continues his strong campaign for re-election as Austin's mayor, announcing the endorsement of two high-profile Austinites today: Willie Nelson and Lance Armstrong. BOR received the following announcement from the Leffingwell campaign:
Country Music Legend Willie Nelson and Seven-Time Tour de France Winner Lance Armstrong Endorse Mayor Lee Leffingwell
AUSTIN, TX - Mayor Lee Leffingwell is excited to announce today that he has been endorsed by two of Austin's favorite adopted sons - country music legend Willie Nelson and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
"I love Austin and I think Mayor Leffingwell has done a real good job of helping keep it a special place," said Nelson. "I'm proud to give him my endorsement."
"Mayor Leffingwell has been a strong leader and I think he deserves another term," said Armstrong. "I hope my fellow Austinites will join me in supporting him for re-election."
Willie and Lance join Lee's growing list of more than 500 endorsing community leaders.
 It's no surprise that Willie endorsed the Mayor, since the Mayor renamed several blocks of 2nd Street in downtown Austin as Willie Nelson Boulevard. The photo at right is from the ceremony marking the occasion, which I cribbed from the Mayor's Facebook page.
Notably, both world-famous Austinites are significant humanitarians. As a co-founder of Farm Aid, Willie has raised tens of millions of dollars to help American family farmers. He's also a stalwart supporter of marijuana legalization, which I'm guessing would probably poll pretty well here in Austin. As a founder of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, aka Livestrong, Lance has raised immense amounts of money, awareness, and support for cancer survivorship. He also advocated forcefully for Prop 15, the 2005 statewide Constitutional Amendment that dedicated $3 billion in general revenue bonds to support cancer research, prevention, and detection. Lance is also a local business owner -- his bicycle store (and coffee shop) Mellow Johnny's is a stone's throw from City Hall.
You can view the rest of the Mayor's sizable and notable supporter list on his website, www.LeffingwellforMayor.com.
Austin's mayoral election will be held on Saturday, May 12. At this time, it's unclear at this time if we will have even had our Democratic primary by then. |
