The April fundraising reports are out in the Austin City Council races. The Statesman has the story.
In Place 1, Jason Meeker raised only $2,960 in April. The incumbent Lee Leffingwell raised $23,690 in April bringing his total since November to an impressive $192,065.
In Place 3, Jennifer Kim outraised Randi Shade by $10,250 last month but still trails to Shade in overall fundraising $184,425 to $179,475. The only council candidate to have raised more than Kim and Shade is Leffingwell. Ken Weiss, another contender for Place 3, raised $215 in April.
In Place 4, Cid Galindo led with $50,030 raised last month. Laura Morrison raised $21,491 and Robin Cravey raised $12,974.
Galindo has had a pretty singificant financial advantage in Place 4.
Galindo has also spent the most money since fundraising began in November — $158,961 — compared with Morrison's $114,214 and Cravey's $48,501. Galindo has loaned himself $60,000; Morrison has loaned herself $40,000.
The following is intended to be a one-stop post for all of the information you could want for the Austin City Council races. Please let us know if we are missing any information, and feel free to share this post with any and all friends and neighbors who want to get more informed on Austin City Council races. Thanks for reading Burnt Orange Report.
ABOUT CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS - Explanation, Endorsements, Polls, Election History
"There are seven members on the Austin City Council: one Mayor and six Council Members. The entire Council is elected at large by the voters of the City. Each member serves a staggered three-year term. Thus, three of the members are voted on one year, with the remaining members, including the Mayor, elected the following year. Term limits are now in place, which means the Mayor and Council Members may serve in their respective seat for a maximum of six years, or two consecutive terms."
(Bumped. This came out last Friday afternoon so many of our weekday readers may have missed it. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Earlier I promoted a post regarding some poll results in the Austin City Council races conducted by the Capital Area Asian American Democrats (consider making a donation to them to cover the cost of the poll like I did). I received word that the results were slightly off as they were the raw numbers prior to being weighted to the electorate.
I have posted the official poll results below. The changes are marginal but do reflect a lower level of undecided voters across the board and Robin Cravey swaps positions with Jennifer Gale in Place 4.
Here are the actual poll results.
IVR Polls surveyed 517 likely City Council voters on April 16. The survey's margin of error is +/- 4.3%.
Place 1
Lee Leffingwell 37.5%
Jason Meeker 13.7%
Allen Demling 3.9%
Undecided 44.9%
Place 3
Randi Shade 26.4%
Jennifer Kim 24.9%
Ken Weiss 11.3%
Undecided 37.4%
Place 4
Cid Galindo 11.9%
Laura Morrison 10.3%
Robin Cravey 10.2%
Jennifer Gale 8.0%
Ken Vasseau 4.8%
Sam Osemene 4.8%
Undecided 50.0%
We don't usually have an opportunity to see a poll like this so what does it tell us? First off, according to the pollster, these respondents are those who self-identified themselves as planning to vote in the city elections, so the undecideds, while high, are not inflated by unlikely voters.
That said- it's clear that these races are very fluid and voter contact via TV, Radio, and Mail will play a large role in the next 3 weeks.
In Place 1, Leffingwell clearly has an established lead with Meeker having to work to get beyond his base if he's to have any chance. This concurs with the wideheld assumption that Leffingwell is headed to victory without a runoff.
In Place 3, a statistical tie exists and while always predicted to be a hard fought race, I wouldn't have guessed that Shade would have had this level of support prior to entering the paid media phase of the campaign (which against an incumbent is a place she's probably happy to be in). Still, it's anyone game, but unless Kim or Shade is able to boost their margins, they'll be going head to head until the June runoff and a long campaign and smaller electorate could shift the electoral dynamics.
In Place 4, it is clear that the lack of an incumbent has the race wide open for whom is going to face off in a June runoff. Morrison, having won the lion's share of endorsements and some of the city's better consultants, does not have the poll numbers to back up what many had perceived to be frontrunner status. There is a clear separation of the field in this place with Gale providing the dividing line of those who are contenders and those who are not; Gale, of course, being in a class of her own.
Also, people may have underestimated the power that a Hispanic surname has, even in city elections (note- he has done some tv already). Combine that with a candidate likely to pick up the moderate to center-right city voters, and we may be dealing with a battle between Morrison and Cravey for which progressive will get to take on Cid Galindo in a runoff. Still, the race has the most undecided voters and is wide open so there is a reasonable chance that we get a Morrison-Cravey runoff that makes Austin lefties a little less anxious.
Share your own thoughts in the comments. The poll script is in the extended entry.
Tonight four clubs got together and had a joint forum to endorse in the Austin City Council, AISD and ACC races. Those clubs were South Austin Democrats, Texas Environmental Democrats, Capitol Area Asian American Democrats, and Capital Area Progressive Democrats, and the result are below.
Tim Mahoney was endorsed by CAPD, CAAAD, SAD, and TED for ACC
Jerry Garcia was endorsed by CAPD and CAAAD for Austin Independent School District Board
Lee Leffingwell was endorsed by CAPD, CAAAD, SAD, TED for re-election in City Council Place 1
Jennifer Kim was endorsed by CAPD and CAAAD for Austin City Council Place 3
Randi Shade was endorsed by SAD for Austin City Council Place 3
Laura Morrison was endorsed by CAPD, CAAAD, and SAD for Austin City Council Place 4
This list represents all endorsements made tonight at the Democratic Club meetings and links to the website are provided if available.
The Statesman reports that Jason Meeker is now saying that Lee Leffingwell should have to effectively step down now if he's interested in running for mayor later. This rests on Jason's interpretation of city code:
Meeker said he has read attorney general opinions and disagrees with the city's interpretation of the law. He said the seat should be filled, not just up for election, within 120 days.
"I don't think they're reading it right, and as a tax-paying citizen, that's good enough (reason) for it to be called into question," Meeker said.
Better Austin Today (BATPAC) made endorsements in two of the contested city council races. The organization requires a 60% majority in order to endorse and only two candidates achieved that majority-- Jason Meeker and Laura Morrison.
The reason for their endorsements is straight from the release:
Jason Meeker is a fresh voice for change in Place 1. Meeker's passion for ensuring all stakeholders have a seat at the table is exactly what Austin needs to counter the insider mentality and special interest domination of City Hall. Meeker is a successful independent businessman who understands the critical role of entrepreneurs in our local economy. He has the vision Austin needs and a reliable commitment to crafting inclusive solutions that stands in stark contrast to the current Council.
Laura Morrison is far and away the best choice for Place 4. Morrison has a long track record of working to make Austin a better place for everyone. She is best known for her stellar service as the President of the Austin Neighborhoods Council, where she consistently demonstrated sound judgment, a keen intellect, deep respect for differing opinions, and a willingness to fight tenaciously for policies that protect Austin's environment and neighborhoods. But Morrison's qualifications go beyond neighborhood and environmental interests. She understands the importance of smart economic policy and giving social equity issues the attention they deserve. Morrison has the right combination of vision, integrity and know-how that Austin needs.
