Clean Water Action/Texas Vote Environment Offer City Council Endorsements

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 08:30 PM CDT

After much deliberation and careful consideration, Clean Water Action and Texas Vote Environment have endorsed the following candidates for Austin City Council, 2008:

Place 1: Lee Leffingwell

Place 3: Jennifer Kim

Place 4: Dual endorsement: Robin Cravey and Laura Morrison

I'm not sure if the place 4 endorsement was driven more out of endorsing the credible non-Cid Galindo candidates, or a hedge on endorsing the (no longer) frontrunner Laura Morrison and environ Robin Cravey.

Your thoughts in the comments.  

City Council Advertising

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 08:27 PM CDT

Well, that came and went until yesterday, when a full page ad (.pdf) was taken out by Mr. Culleton as an individual, this time aimed at both Councilmembers Lee Leffingwell and Jennifer Kim. Now, it appears that he has taken that message to the airwaves, spending his own money on a similar message on TV.

I've found the whole episode a bit strange- I'm not sure I'd spend that much money randomly in a city council race but this is Austin and stranger things have certainly happened. Randi Shade released the following statement in regards to the apparent independent expenditure.

"I've been made aware today that Mr. Rick Culleton, the owner of Discount Electronics, has begun airing television commercials which are critical of Jennifer Kim and which advocate for my candidacy.  I want to make clear that I have never met with or talked to Mr. Culleton about my campaign, and have no previous association with him.  Mr. Culleton did make an unsolicited online contribution to my campaign on Wednesday night, and while I appreciate his support and advocacy, I am in no way involved in his effort and have not received any notification from him regarding any of his
independent expenditures."

Shade Proclaims Austin Should Negotiate Away Barton Springs

by: Mark Duncan

Wed Apr 23, 2008 at 00:17 PM CDT

Transcript of Randi Shade's statement at the Thursday, April 17 Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA) Candidate Forum

Question: You told Brian Rogers that we should have negotiated SOS instead of passing SOS. Why do you feel this way?

"Well, I don't think that's exactly what I told Brian Rogers, but I don't know. Is he here? What I talked to him about was my viewing of the movie "The Unforseen" which I highly recommend you all see if you haven't.

It's been showing at the Alamo Draft House for about a week now. Alamo Draft House South. What I told him was how sad it made me to see it result in legislative action. That the will of the citizens was ... of Austin was basically taken by legislative process. And that there wasn't a better compromise that made everybody a winner. Because really when you saw the original proposal less land would have been developed than what ultimately did get developed. And I just ... You know I think that was what I was talking about, the importance of compromise. It was in the context of the Domain subsidies discussion that we were having."

Environmental leaders from Austin have written an open letter criticizing Shade for her openness to compromise away Austin's commitment to protect Barton Springs.

Former Mayor Gus Garcia, former councilmember Brigid Shea, Bill Bunch, Ann Kitchen, and Robin Rather released an open letter to the Austin public today criticizing city council candidate Randi Shade for recent comments that the city should have compromised with developers on the SOS ordinance.

"Ms. Shade's statement that we should have negotiated with developers shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the situation the Austin community was faced with," the letter says.  Ms. Shade made comments at the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA)  last Thursday that Austin had made a mistake by not compromising with developers instead of passing the SOS ordinance.

The Save Our Springs Alliance was born in 1990, when Freeport McMoRan, a mining company, threatened to develop 4,000 acres (16 km²) of land it owned along Barton Creek. When it came time for City Council to approve the development, though, an all-night meeting ensued wherein citizens decried the company's actions and professed their love of Barton Springs, what many refer to as the "Soul of the City."

The Save Our Springs Ordinance was a community driven effort launched in 1992.

This ordinance was put on the ballot by citizen initiative after decades of attempted negotiation with the developers who were building over the watershed. After developers negotiated away more and more protections and a pro-development council sided with business interests over community interests, it was clear the negotiation failed.

As the letter states, "The community made clear its will with the overwhelming passage of the SOS ordinance that the Springs were to be protected, not bargained away."

The full letter can be read here.

CORRECTED: 2008 Austin City Council Poll Results

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Fri Apr 18, 2008 at 11:15 PM CDT

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.  

30 Days Out, 30K Up, 15 Ways You Can Help

by: Randi Shade

Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 11:43 PM CDT

Judging by the posts on today's open thread "What Races Are You Watching?" there weren't many of you anxiously waiting in front of your computers this afternoon for the Austin City Council fundraising reports to come out, but it was a big day for those of us in the running.  It turned out to be an especially big day for our campaign, as we found ourselves with a $30,000 lead in cash-on-hand over our opponent, Place 3 incumbent Jennifer Kim.

Between January 1 and April 1, our campaign raised $95,987, making our total amount raised since the beginning of the race in November $158,184.  We've spent just over $63,000 in that time, and I loaned myself $10,000 for the race, so we've now got $103,175 in the bank for the last 30 days of the race.  Jennifer Kim raised $84,284 in this reporting period, making her total raised since the start of the campaign $143,485.  She's reported spending just over $74,000 and has a $7,700 loan, making her current cash balance $74,088.

A $30,000 cash lead (ok, $29,087) is - with all due humility - no small feat in a race against a well-known, well-financed incumbent where the maximum individual contribution is $300, but the numbers alone aren't the best part of the story.  The best part is the fact that more than half of our 713 donors, 53% of them to be exact, have never contributed to any candidate for Austin City Council before.  These are mostly friends and associates who have worked with me in every venture and organization of which I've ever been a part.  That gives me confidence that our campaign can and will continue to bring new people in the process - people who I hope and believe will show up at the polls on Election Day.

At the same time, I'm proud to have the financial support and endorsement of a lot of Austin's most familiar faces, too.  Our donors during this reporting period included some of our community's best-known non-profit executives, business leaders, philanthropists, Democratic and pro-choice activists, developers (yes, developers!), educators, neighborhood leaders, environmental and transit advocates, former City Council members and state legislators, former UT student body presidents, and leaders from the Hispanic, African-American, Asian-American, Jewish and gay communities.

4 Democratic Clubs Endorse

by: Matt Glazer

Wed Mar 26, 2008 at 10:24 PM CDT

• 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.

Jennifer Kim's Friends Live in Glass Houses

by: Amy Everhart

Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 09:34 PM CDT

Last week, two RECA past presidents and a whole host of heavy hitter developers held a fundraiser for Council Member Jennifer Kim.

The hosts of this event included current and former RECA (Real Estate Council of Austin) officers and board members, who are also some of the biggest condo developers in town. Even the folks who are not actual developers on this list represent developers in front of the City Council (translation: lobbyists).

Why I Support Jennifer Kim

by: Jeff Heckler

Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 02:55 PM CDT

For those who don't know me, I would like to present a brief introduction. In the mid-nineties, I was elected twice to the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) representing Senate District 14. I worked at the Travis County Democratic party for some time, where I helped organize rallies for Bill Clinton, Al Gore and others. I am a cofounder of North by Northwest Democrats which was born in my kitchen. Also I have worked on numerous local issues - fighting Exxon Mobil and BP Amoco to prevent the Longhorn Pipeline and pushing Wal-Mart off the aquifer, to mention a couple. I am a former board member of Save Our Springs Alliance.  But I'm sure, no matter what I've done, I'm certain to invite some enmity by writing this (yawn).

Recently, I have worked with the Stop Domain Subsidies group to prevent the City of Austin from doling out 65 million of taxpayer dollars to Simon Properties, the largest mall developer in the US, to support high-end retail. As you may know, we successfully completed a petition drive to put the issue on the ballot in November. Twenty-three thousand Austinites signed the petition and we recruited nearly 500 locally owned businesses such as Alamo Drafthouse, Book People, and Waterloo Records. It is through this effort we came to meet Randi Shade.

Our founder, Brian Rodgers, met with Ms. Shade four or five times. At the end of the day, we concluded she is not a good choice for Austin. She began our discussions as "seemingly" supportive of our efforts and over time began to oppose our efforts. This was deeply disturbing to us. One reason, perhaps, is that she is accepting contributions from the few folks who would like to see us fail, like the original developers of the Domain. She claims her campaign contributions have no impact on her ability to lead. We're not so sure. Perhaps more disturbing is her inability to stick with an issue with any kind of conviction. We certainly don't need any more wafflers in any form of government.

In October, Jennifer Kim cast a very difficult vote that was in every sense courageous. In her role as a member of the Capitol Area Metropolitan Organization (CAMPO), she voted to oppose the toll road plan. Her vote was vindicated later when TXDOT admitted to a billion dollar "error" - meaning there would be less money available to build needed roads in Central Texas. Meanwhile, supporters of the toll road agenda are gleefully inundating Ms. Shades campaign coffers with contributions. What does this mean exactly? Perhaps nothing, but do we want to find out after she's elected?

Besides, Jennifer has been a stalwart supporter of the environment, neighborhoods and especially small, locally owned businesses. I have a difficult time wondering why we would elect anyone else at this time.

I think Ms. Shade is adopting the new paradigm in Austin politics as a campaign strategy. The strategy goes like this: Don't commit too much, appear a little left of center, be involved in the community (but not anything too controversial or verifiable) and let the voters project their own beliefs on the candidate. I'm not certain what we have in Ms. Shade and I don't think anyone else does either. I have heard from many folks who tell me that Ms. Shade's responses to queries at the forums are often times "I'll have to get back to you on that" or "I need to to learn more about that." That doesn't give me much comfort. I prefer candidates who exhibit some core belief system or values. I hope you do too.

Please support Jennifer Kim this May. And please feel free to hold Ms. Shade's political feet to the fire - like we do every other candidate in this town.

Thank you.

Jeff Heckler

Greetings from Randi Shade

by: Randi Shade

Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 09:07 PM CDT

I want to start by thanking Matt Glazer for inviting me to post a journal.  

I first contacted Matt, thanks to an introduction by a mutual friend, back in January, and he invited me then to engage with the BOR community.  

I appreciated the invitation, and decided that the best way to begin would be for me to listen (or read) in earnest.  So over the last 60 days, as I've been campaigning - and trying desperately to get anyone to pay attention to a May City Council race - I've been reading BOR as much as I can.

Especially during this incredible moment in history, it has been a great time to be reading BOR for news and information and analysis about Democratic politics - from the presidential race all the way down to precinct chair contests.  I think it's safe to say that no one else was covering the Bucknall-Marion throwdown.

But just as much as the posts, I've enjoyed reading and learning from readers' comments over the past few months.  The BOR community is a lively bunch to say the least, but the respectful tone of MOST of the honest debate that I've seen happen here is very refreshing and, I think, very useful - especially when it ultimately succeeds in mobilizing voters to elect progressive candidates here in Austin and across Texas.

Which leads me to, well, me....

Randi Shade Gets A Little Help from Her Toll Road Friends

by: Matt Glazer

Fri Mar 07, 2008 at 09:50 AM CST

It looks like Randi Shade's fundraisers are a who's who of pro-development types. Two days ago Shade had a fundraiser put on by what amounts to the toll road lobbyists in Austin, and includes Gary Farmer and Don Martin (main spokespeople for the Take on Traffic group that lobbied for the Phase 2 tollroads), Pete Winstead (worked on toll road projects for CTRMA and on another note he - his firm - hired Todd Baxter after he left the Legislature), Paul Bury, Brian Cassidy, Jody Hagemann, Tim Hendricks, Helen Jobes, Lowell Lebermann, Kirk Rudy, Mike Weaver (transportation engineer who has been one of the ring-leaders for toll roads throughout the state), and Jerry Winetroub.

Looking at Randi's finance reports, the pro-development connection is stronger. Austin folks may already be aware of the Endeavor Group.  This is the group that developed the Domain and as well as pushed to build a Wal-Mart over the Aquifer. It appears that every member of the Endeavor Group has given to Randi and supports her campaign for City Council.

In contrast, Jennifer Kim has a broad base of support from across the community that includes key progressive leaders such as Robin Rather, Brigid Shea, Ann Kitchen, Amy Simmons of Amy's Ice cream, Nelson Linder, Juan and Marta Cotera, Willie Mae and Saundra Kirk, Craig Smith, Jon Beal, Karen Hadden, Nilda de la Llata of El Sol Y La Luna.  In addition, she has the support of community groups like the Austin Neighborhoods Council, Austin Sierra Club, and the Central Labor Council.

Who should we trust, the Toll Road lobby or established Austin progressive leaders?