Austin American-Statesman Releases Endorsements

the good, the bad, and the ugly (5.00 / 1)

The Good: Their endorsement of Chris Riley was correct, though a little sparse.  Hopefully, they'll expand on it a bit before early voting starts.

The Bad: Obviously, I disagree with their choice, but I think this was pretty expected.  I also expected more bile towards Lee, so was pleasantly surprised on that front.  Bonus: Line about Strayhorn being a ball of fire on the campaign trail.

The Ugly: wtf is up with their criticism of Mike advocating for housing for the homeless and better representation for Austin's citizens?  personal agenda?  really?

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by: Kedron Touvell @ Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 23:01:44 PM CDT

don't you get it? (0.00 / 0)

Statesman doesn't like Lee, Mike is a proxy for Lee, Statesman doesn't like Mike!

Or something. I was surprised they didn't go hard against Lee in their endorsement, though this is more of a win for Riley. If he picks up the Chronicle as well, he's well on his way of moving place 1 away from being a "close election". He also already had Nokoa, the Villager, and BOR, and now the Statesman.

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by: Karl-Thomas Musselman @ Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 23:05:35 PM CDT

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Riley endorsement (0.00 / 0)

is helpful but hardly a surprise. I agree that this now makes the Chronicle endorsement very important for Perla. It seems, however, that Riley probably has the inside track on it.

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by: David Mauro @ Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 23:14:08 PM CDT

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Daily Texan might matter this year... (0.00 / 0)

e-day is May 9th, first final doesn't start until May 13th.  All those kids are probably still registered from Obama's election.  If the DT goes Lee, along with the UDems he might pick up some unexpected votes (not aware if they're actually working campus, other than APC hangers).

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by: Kedron Touvell @ Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 23:24:58 PM CDT

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If people listen to the Daily Texan (3.00 / 1)

I don't see a lot of students basing their vote off of it.

"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

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by: Timothy @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 01:11:08 AM CDT

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In other news, the sun rose in the east today. (4.33 / 3)

Reflecting what everyone else said, this endorsement was expected. I mean, what other choice do they have?

The Statesman has spent the last few months printing actual lies about Lee, they trash unions any chance they get, they endorsed Bush twice, and now they are up for sale. Criticizing Lee and Mike has become a sport for them.

I'll take the endorsements of BOR, every single Democratic club, every neighborhood and environmental group, and yes, all of the unions, over the Statesman any day of the week. His list of endorsements reflects the grassroots support Lee has earned.

I share Lee's progressive values and vision for Austin and I trust him to take care of all of us while moving Austin forward.  

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by: Amy Everhart @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 08:27:03 AM CDT

The Statesman Made The Right Choice of Brewster McCracken! (0.00 / 0)

Brewster is clearly the more pro-active, pragmatic choice for Austinites. While Lee Leffingwell is progressive, he himself has admitted he wouldn't be the dynamic representative for Austin. In fact, Lee's platform focuses solely on maintaining city services, when during this time of economic upheaval, Austin needs a Mayor who will work tirelessly to preserve city services while trying to promote and preserve jobs that provide the city with long-term job stability WITH progressive politics.

We can't focus on what we can't do..I'll going with man who belives we CAN.

That man for Austin is Mayor Pro Tem Brewster McCracken.

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by: tates5a @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 15:16:31 PM CDT

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Awesome message discipline (0.00 / 0)

Good job.

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by: Rahm McDaniel @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 18:26:39 PM CDT

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oh, the irony (0.00 / 0)

I'm having a difficult time digesting the Lee camp's effort to downplay the Statesman endorsement.  

I've got to hand it to Lee that he did a fine job selecting his paid consultants.  These consultants, while all decent people, are brought on board in part because of what organizational endorsements they can bring to the table.

The whole endorsement process has become a joke with the same  Austinites voting over and over again under the guise of different organizations.  

Those of us who have paid attention  to the election process know that there's been a recipe for success.  It's a shame that the community at large doesn't see that Austin has its very own political machine.  This community deserves better then that.  

Brewster has truly charted an independent course over his tenure.  Not beholden to any special interests and not afraid to do what's best for the entire city despite placing at stake support from organizations-- namely public safety-- who have thrown their support behind him in the past.  

If you want a truly progressive and independent mayor who isn't afraid to tackle big challenges and proactively take on the religious right, then Brewster is your man for the job.  

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by: peacelove @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 20:20:27 PM CDT

Brewster and $$ (0.00 / 0)

Or: If you are developers and want a mayor who helps you work around those nasty neighborhood associations--vote for McCracken.  Or: If you're a newspaper that's failing financially and can't find a buyer, cater to the developers who run those expensive ads--and endorse McCracken.
Most members of neighborhood associations and other active groups don't consider endorsements a "joke." It's more like democracy at work.  That's a joke?

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by: texun @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 23:00:58 PM CDT

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No one is downplaying it (0.00 / 0)

But for anyone who has paid attention to the AAS editorial board's opinion of Leffingwell, it was hardly a surprise.

 

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by: David Mauro @ Mon Apr 20, 2009 at 00:39:22 AM CDT

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Bit of Wisdom for the Statesman (0.00 / 0)

From today's Statesman endorsement of Martinez: "He proposed electing council members by districts but had no firm plan, and the idea died".

No plan moved forward because of political posturing by McCracken and Cole and the Statesman reporting their inaccurate sound bites as fact rather than doing any in depth research and reporting on the matter of the best plan to move forward to the voters on districts. That's why Sen. Wentworth filed legislation to end Austin At-Large election system.

We can only hope the Statesman endorsement proves to be the "kiss of death" to McCracken's campaign. Their endorsement makes it clear who best represents the candidate of choice of corporate interests seeking tax abatements, grants, and contracts along with the real estate development interests seeking variances.

So just leave our cops, firefighters, and EMS workers out of it, and just say you support McCracken because he best represents the needs and visions of our local business community the way Mayor Will Wynn has in his terms in office. That's McCraken's vision for Austin's future, more of the status quo.

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by: ssuits @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 21:01:29 PM CDT

Woman Please Desist With Your Lies! (0.00 / 0)

ALL of the council members voted to table the measure for public referendum which has failed TWICE. Leffingwell people: Don't start telling lies to get what you want! Not gonna work.

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by: tates5a @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 21:13:11 PM CDT

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Get your facts straight, tates5a (3.00 / 1)

For starters, district election referendums have failed more than twice. Since you spread you witty comments on the Statesman blogs quite freely, you should know enough about me to do a Google search to find out who I am. Had you bothered, you would have found out I have been active in Austin politics for quite sometime and am definitely not a woman. I do not know what your problem is, but I value a woman's opinion as much as any man's. Sometimes even more than a man's.

Of the total 29 posts you have made at BOR, only one has not been shilling for either Galindo or McCracken. That said, I am posting for BOR readers my last response to your last tirade in the Statesman blog today. It was posted as follows:

tates5a: Thanks for help making the case of why Sen. Wentworth's bill should pass this session. The whole city council has been less than courageous in the way they cut an run on moving forward with proposals for fair geographic representation for the Austin City Council. All of South Austin and most of North Austin have no members on the city council. I choose to attack those council members that I think did the most to sandbag the last Charter Revision Commission charged with developing a consensus district plan to take to the voters. McCracken is my number one target for the moment.

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by: ssuits @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 23:04:50 PM CDT

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The Statesman and the Unions (3.00 / 1)

The Statesman parrots the anti-union position of its right-wing owners.  The editorial writers who keep complaining that too few policemen and firemen live in the City of Austin obviously don't read the news columns of their paper; it has been reported for years that Austin has a serious lack of affordable housing.  But, I guess when you write editorials for the American, the facts your reporters note only get in the way.

Remember how much they loved W?

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by: texun @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 23:05:13 PM CDT

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Perla needs a little more seasoning? (0.00 / 0)

Is that a joke? The woman has served on the city's planning commission and as an aide in the Texas Senate. She also has a degree from the LBJ School and went to Stanford. Both candidates are pretty well seasoned, so I don't get that at all. That was a weak as shit endorsement - basically, the Statesman likes both candidates, but Chris is 44 and Perla is 33 so we vote for Chris?

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by: el_longhorn @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 23:40:57 PM CDT

Have you listened to Perla? (0.00 / 0)

She has great qualifications, but she can't talk for more than 10 minutes without repeating herself or falling back on platitudes.  She will be a great council member, once she has more experience.

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by: Jeb @ Mon Apr 20, 2009 at 10:40:12 AM CDT

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That's just dumb. (0.00 / 0)

Seasoned speaker does not equal great public servant, nor does the ability to ramble on about the details of every ZAPC decision.  

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by: Robert Ryland @ Mon Apr 20, 2009 at 15:32:41 PM CDT

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