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Statesman Endorses Leffingwell, Shade, and Cravey


by: Phillip Martin, Progress Texas

Sat Apr 26, 2008 at 10:13 PM CDT


The Statesman's editorial board announced their endorsements for the Austin City Council races late Saturday afternoon on their website. Their endorsement for Leffingwell was lukewarm -- nothing that really stood out as a headline sentence. Here is a brief clip from their endorsement for each of the two hotly contested races:

Place 3 - Randi Shade

The Statesman wrote a glowing endorsement for Shade. Her endorsement was as powerful as Leffingwell's was timid. Hard to pick a highlight, but I think this was it:

Shade, 41, is a proven leader. That quality is needed on a council being pulled in several directions at once. Shade is the kind of doer who can help the council focus on important issues during an economic slowdown.

Place 4 - Robin Cravey

Their endorsement for Cravey was equally positive:

Cravey has the edge because of his knowledge of city issues from his previous service at City Hall...He knows how the council works and thoroughly understands the thorny issues - particularly budget matters - facing Austin. Cravey is savvy, seasoned and sensible, and strong on environmental issues.

Tomorrow, we'll have an extended resource page (something I was working on when I came across the Statesman endorsements) regarding the Austin City Council Races, for which early voting begins on Monday. Be sure and check back then for more information on the races.

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Whoa... (0.00 / 0)
I honestly thought it was a 50/50 guess on which way the Statesman would go in Place 3, but Cravey in Place 4? That is a major coup for his campaign. That race just got a lot more fun.  

Please read the Community Guidelines and How to Rate Comments.

yeah, major surprise (0.00 / 0)
I thought the line about Galindo, "who has a single-minded focus on urban planning and downtown issues", would be the reason they endorsed him, given their past history. Great pick-up by Robin, who is getting some late momentum for this race.

I thought place 3 was as expected, given the acrimonious history between the rag and CM Kim.  But the line, "has demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the city and its challenges", is surprising given the fact that Shade's self-admitted lack of familiarity with certain city issues seemed to be the #1 criticism of her that I've heard.  Maybe they meant to say, "she agrees with us that those dirty hippies don't know what they're talking about." :)


[ Parent ]
I agree (0.00 / 0)
I had expected the Statesman to endorse Galindo.  

[ Parent ]
AWESOME!!! (3.00 / 3)
This is excellent news for these three fine candidates. We've all had our disagreements with the Statesman in the past and I am pleasantly surprised to see them hit the nail on the head with these endorsements.

Though the endorsement of Lee was a bit lukewarm (blindly cowtowing to the public safety unions? he's a bit more astute that that), I'm glad they made the right decision. Lee is such a warm, savvy and funny guy to be around and I could easily see him as our mayor.

The fact that they showed some courage in endorsing Randi and Robin is just incredible. Both of these races are unbelievably close and this could be the boost that these two need. The Chronicle copped out by not endorsing anyone in Place 3 and just went with the perceived wave of support for Laura in place 4. The IVR poll last week showed that anything can happen in both of these races. Randi and Robin both have courage and conviction and have shown a deep and wide reach by not really been pigeonholed into single-issue campaigns (Laura=no development, Cid=downtown, Jennifer=no toll roads/subsidies).

Randi will be able to get things done for all of us - I am surprised almost daily at the number of people who know Randi from something they worked on together in the past. She has a deep, diverse resume and has built solid relationships with folks all over our city and state. We need people on the Council who we can feel comfortable approaching, who can shoot us straight, and build consensus. Mike Martinez is among those who has these skills and we need more like that who can listen, learn and lead.

And as I said here a few days ago, Robin Cravey is the candidate in Place 4 who has the most in common with our values in the progressive community. He walks his talk and is one of the most humble, hardworking and honest people you'll meet. And if I'm not mistaken, he was the only candidate who was hangin with us at the BOR party the other night! He has struggled to raise money though, and I really hope this endorsement helps him with momentum. You can help him out here.

Congrats to all three candidates!


Yes it's great news (3.00 / 1)
Congratulations to them all.  I'm especially happy about the endorsement for Robin Cravey!

[ Parent ]
Snakesman (1.00 / 3)
Leave it to the Snakesman to point out the local special interest candidates every time. Thanks Snakesman, you never let us down.

Cravey a special interest candidate? (3.00 / 2)
Huh?

"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."- James A. Baldwin

[ Parent ]
Wow! Place 4 endorsement helps Cravey, Galindo, hurts Morrison (0.00 / 0)

Stateman's endorsement mainly affects political watchers and loyal readers who trust the editorial board w/ sometimes little-known council contenders. Name familiarty sometimes greatly influences the vote.

Cravey has little recognition city-wide. This endorsement should help. Galindo has the most money and has run the most local TV ads. Fmr. Austin Neighborhoods Pres. Laura Morrion is the 2nd place monied candidate but whose support proably most hangs on center-city voters, vs. wide-scale (via TV) and Hispanic support for Galindo. Cravey and Morrison will vie largely for the same voter pie. Leaving Cid Galindo probably on top looking towards a later runoff...


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