Burnt Orange Report: - Jason Meeker

Lee Leffingwell, Jennifer Kim and Cid Galindo Lead April Fundraising

David Mauro — Sat, 03 May 2008 16:26:01 GMT

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.

Whose numbers are you most surprised by?

Austin City Council: Resource Page

Phillip Martin — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:30:00 GMT

EARLY VOTING IS THIS WEEK!

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."

Source: Austin City Council

Other information you may want to know before learning about the candidates:

BOR: Read Our Endorsements for Austin City Council
Statesman: Read the Statesman's Endorsements
Overview: Read the Statesman's Overview of the Candidates
Polls: The only poll numbers for this year's election
Elections: City Council Election History

PLACE 1 - Allen Demling, Lee Leffingwell (incumbent), Jason Meeker

Allen Demling:

Demling has been endorsed by the League of Bicycle Voters and is campaigning on improving transportation and making Austin the premier green technology city in the country. Though he is polling last among Place 1 candidates, Demling is focused on reaching out to promote a grassroots effort that places people and ideas above money and politics.

Candidate Home Page - Read about Demling on the web
On the Issues - Read the platform
Biography - Learn more about Demling's background

Lee Leffingwell

Leffingwell is the current incumbent for the Place 1 seat. His campaign is focused on "managing our growth in a way that protects our special quality of life" and he points to various efforts he's done in office on his website. Leffingwell has received endorsements from the Austin American-Statesman, Austin Chronicle, numerous neighborhood and environmental groups, and many more. He currently enjoys a large lead in the polls.

TV Ad - Watch Leffingwell's television ad online
Candidate Home page - Read about Leffingwell on the web
On the Issues - Read the platform
Biography - Learn more about Leffingwell's background
Supporters & Endorsements - See who's backing Leffingwell

Jason Meeker

Meeker is running his first campaign, and has used a blog to communicate most of his issues and news. He received the endorsement of BATPAC and has spoken up against the Wal-Mart/Northcross Mall proposals.

Candidate Home Page - Read about Meeker on the web
Candidate Blog - Keep up to date with the latest news of the campaign

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PLACE 3 - Jennifer Kim (incumbent), Randi Shade, Ken Weiss

Jennifer Kim

Kim is the current incumbent of the Place 3 seat. Kim is currently polling neck-and-neck with challenger Randi Shade. Her campaign is touting her votes against the Domain and against toll roads, as well as the fact that she wouldn't accept the Council pay raise. Kim has been endorsed by the Austin Sierra Club, Austin Neighborhood Council, and many more.

TV Ad - Watch Kim's television ad online
Candidate Home Page - Read about Kim on the web
On the Issues - Read Kim's accomplishments on the Council
Biography - Learn more about Kim's background
Supporters & Endorsements - See who's backing Kim

Disclosure: Matt Glazer, our Editor-in-Chief, currently works as Field Director for Kim's campaign. In keeping with our policies, Matt had nothing to do with the content of this post in any way whatsoever, despite what other Austin-area writers may try to tell you.

Randi Shade

Shade is running a campaign that often pushes back against traditional rules of local Austin campaigning. Her campaign has challenged the absolute positions of several key local issues (toll roads, Barton Springs) while promoting fresh dialogue among the community. Shade has received endorsements from the Austin American-Statesman, local public safety groups (police, fire, EMS), and more.

TV Ad - Watch Shade's television ad online
Candidate Home Page - Read about Shade on the web
On the Issues - Read the platform
Biography - Learn more about Shade's background
Supporters & Endorsements - See who's backing Shade

Ken Weiss

Weiss is running third behind Kim and Shade. His website is bare of any biography, issues, or support, though our community member Daniella Sneal has written a post about his issues. Otherwise, I have not read or seen much else about Weiss.

Candidate Home Page - Read about Weiss on the web
On the Issues - Read the platform

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PLACE 4 - Robin Cravey, Jennifer Gale, Cid Galindo, Laura Morrison, Sam Osemene, Ken Vasseau

Robin Cravey

Cravey has a long history with Austin City Council politics, being once named the top Council aide. He's an ardent environmentalist, and has won the endorsements of the Austin American-Statesman (as well as the endorsement of BOR). The only poll in the field showed Cravey more or less tied in a three-way race with Cid Galindo and Laura Morrison.

Internet Ad 1 - Watch a brief video outlining Cravey's roots in the community
Internet Ad 2 - Watch a brief video outlining a day in the life of Cravey.
Candidate Home page - Read about Cravey on the web
On the Issues - Read the platform
Biography - Learn more about Cravey's background
Supporters & Endorsements - See who's backing Cravey

Jennifer Gale

Gale is a perennial candidate for office in Austin and Texas politics. According to her Wikipedia page, she has promised to bring an NFL team to Austin if she's elected, and her favorite movies are Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire.

Cid Galindo

Galindo is running for City Council to help promote responsible growth for the community. He's served as Director of Cartias of Austin, Director of the Downtown Austin Alliance, and on the City of Austin Planning Commission as its Comprehensive Plan Committee Chair and Commissioner. His endorsements include the Austin Board of Realtors and local public safety groups (police, fire, EMS). According to the only poll in the field, he's currently running more or less tied with Cravey and Morrison.

TV Ad - Watch Galindo's television ad online
Candidate Home page - Read about Galindo on the web
On the Issues - Read the platform
Biography - Learn more about Galindo's background
Supporters & Endorsements - See who's backing Galindo

Laura Morrison

Morrison has served as President of the Austin Neighborhood Council and has earned the endorsement of 22 Austin-area groups, as well as the Austin Chronicle. Morrison's strength among the community -- as evidenced by her numerous local endorsements -- rests in her experience managing and working with numerous groups across the community. She is more or less tied for first place with Cravey and Galindo, according to the only poll in the field.

TV Ad - Watch Morrison's television ad online
Candidate Home page - Read about Morrison on the web
On the Issues - Read the platform
Biography - Learn more about Morrison's background
Supporters & Endorsements - See who's backing Morrison

Disclosure: Matt Glazer, our Editor-in-Chief, is currently doing internet strategy for Morrison's campaign. In keeping with our policies, Matt had nothing to do with the content of this post in any way whatsoever, despite what other Austin-area writers may try to tell you.

Sam Osemene

Osemene works as a parole officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. His campaign is focused on larger-vision issues, such as the nature of governance, liberty and freedom, and rule of law. If elected to City Council, he's pledged to enact tax cuts to encourage citizens to invest more, thus driving economic growth.

Ken Vasseau

Vasseau is an Austin real estate agent. He maintains a MySpace page that states that his top issues include issuing municpal bonds at low rate to help with fire, EMS, and police services, and fighting crime in the Northcross Mall area. He also is opposed to toll roads.

Candidate Home Page - Read about Vasseau on the web

Lee Leffingwell is "Running" for Re-Election

Matt Glazer — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 16:10:14 GMT

Tell us what you think:

CORRECTED: 2008 Austin City Council Poll Results

Karl-Thomas Musselman — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:15:34 GMT

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.

Here's the call script. The order of candidates was rotated for different calls to reduce any "first-name" bias issues.

IVR Polls is conducting a two minute survey of Austin political views. If you are a registered voter, please press 1 on your phone now.

Do you plan to vote in the city council elections on May tenth?
If you plan to vote in the election, press 1
If you do not plan to vote, press 2
If you are undecided, press 3

The candidates for city council place 1 are Lee Leffingwell, Jason Meeker and Allen Demling.
If you will vote for Lee Leffingwell, press 1
If you will vote for Jason Meeker, press 2
If you will vote for Allen Deming, press 3
If you are undecided, press 4

The candidates for city council place 3 are Jennifer Kim, Randi Shade and Ken Weiss.
If you will vote for Jennifer Kim, press 1
If you will vote for Randi Shade, press 2
If you will vote for Ken Weiss, press 3
If you are undecided, press 4

The candidates for city council place 4 are Robin Cravey, Jennifer Gale, Cid Galindo, Laura Morrison, Sam Osemene and Ken Vasseau.
If you will vote for Robin Cravey, press 1
If you will vote for Jennifer Gale, press 2
If you will vote for Cid Galindo, press 3
If you will vote for Laura Morrison, press 4
If you will vote for Sam Osemene, press 5
If you will vote for Ken Vasseau, press 6
If you are undecided, press 7

4 Democratic Clubs Endorse

Matt Glazer — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:24:35 GMT

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.

Jason Meeker: Legal Analyst?

m1ek — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 17:57:23 GMT

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.

This is the same Jason Meeker who interpreted city code so aptly for his anti-Wal-Mart group, Responsible Growth for Northcross. Anybody remember how that one turned out?

Better Austin Today Endorses Morrison and Meeker for Austin City Council

Matt Glazer — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:12:37 GMT

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.