Yes Lee Can!

by: Amy Everhart

Sat May 09, 2009 at 10:46 AM CDT

Lee Leffingwell has earned the support of the progressive community in Austin, and he'll provide strong leadership as our next Mayor. If you haven't already voted, then please click here to find your polling location.

From the Austin Chronicle:

Leffingwell's willingness and ability to work patiently with disparate interest groups - as well as his council colleagues - has broken policy logjams and moved the city forward on water conservation, redevelopment, public safety, and other issues. We haven't agreed with him on every issue, but he listens very well and seriously considers all public input, including opposing viewpoints. His mandate will also include being an inspiring, forward-thinking leader; he will need to use wisely the "kitchen cabinet" he proposes, in order to generate fresh ideas, solutions, and public energy.

Come to Lee's headquarters today and volunteer! Let's spread the word about Lee's progressive vision for Austin.

You can choose from several volunteer options:
1) Phone banking
2) Poll workers
3) Street visibility

It's a beautiful day in Austin, TX. So come volunteer and elect a mayor who shares our values.

Lee Leffingwell Headquarters
700 North Lamar
Austin, TX 78703
Click here for directions

After the polls close, join us at the Hill's Cafe to take part in the ELECTION NIGHT WATCH PARTY!  

Breaking: San Antonio Express-News Endorses Julian Castro for Mayor

by: sanantoniomayor

Sat Apr 25, 2009 at 05:15 PM CDT

Today, the San Antonio Express-News endorsed Julian Castro for Mayor.  This is a key development because the candidate that wins the endorsement of the Express-News usually goes on to win the mayoral race.  In 2005 and 2007, the E-N endorsed Hardberger for Mayor and he won both times.  In 2001, the E-N endorsed Ed Garza, and Garza won.

The Express-News editorial notes that of the three main candidates in the race,  Julian Castro is the best prepared and offers the best choice for the city.  Notably, the editorial noted Castro's emphasis on and vision for economic growth as one of the main reasons for their endorsement. The newspaper also noted that most of the business community is now backing Castro in this race.  With early voting in the race starting on Monday, the Express-News endorsement will give Castro a major advantage as it will probably influence many undecided voters.

Austin Chronicle Forgets Alternate Candidates in Its Hustle for Mayor

by: MeanRachel

Wed Apr 22, 2009 at 09:08 AM CDT

What happens when the alternative becomes mainstream? As the city of Austin delves further into its live music and hipster vices, with $200 ACL-fest ticket and plethora of skinny jeans, suddenly grunge is luxe. In last night's Hustle for Mayor, hosted by the alternative weekly newspaper the Austin Chronicle, the two mainstream candidates Lee Leffingwell and Brewster McCracken sipped coolly on Lone Stars and Miller Lites while answering softballs in front of a youthful, sweaty crowd at The Mohawk.

Strangely absent from the stage -- but not the venue -- were lesser-known mayoral candidates David Buttross and Josiah Ingalls. Nevertheless, Buttross managed to distribute glossy push-cards to attendees and Ingalls, a janitor at the Downtown Hilton, stood awkwardly in a poorly fitting suit and tie at the back of the audience. He was, as one Chronicle staffer put it, "uninvited."

The Chronicle, representative of Austin perhaps now more than ever in its scenester popularity, seemed unapologetic for eschewing an alternative voice in its Austin mayoral debates. A questioning of senior staff writer Michael King resulted in him saying "I don't think he's a serious candidate - do you?"

Lee Leffingwell Loans Campaign $58,837

by: David Mauro

Wed Apr 08, 2009 at 04:59 PM CDT

Lee Leffingwell, candidate for Mayor of Austin, has loaned his campaign $58,837, the Austin American-Statesman reports. After a previous loan of $41,163 on January 16, that brings Leffingwell's total loans to $100,000.

His campaign says Leffingwell always planned to loan at least this much to the campaign. Personal campaign loans are not unusual in Austin Mayoral campaigns, either. In fact, current Mayor Will Wynn loaned himself $90,000.

As the Statsman points out, given the $350 per person limits and the state of the economy, raising money for city races is not easy. While the strict contribution limits had good intentions, they clearly are hurting voter turnout in Austin Municipal elections.

Many have predicted that this year's elecion will have a turnout of about 13 percent. That is significantly lower than the 26 percent turnout we had in the 1994 Mayoral election (Bruce Todd and Daryl Slusher), the 23 percent turnout in 1991 (Bruce Todd and Robert Barnstone), and the 17 percent in 1997 (Kirk Watson and Ronney Reynolds).

Of course, all three of those elections were before the contribution limits made it difficult to wage an aggressive campaign in a city of Austin's size, especially without a candidate dipping into their own pocket.

In the coming years, it would be nice to see a conversation begin about raising the contribution limits to try to raise turnout in city elections and ensure that candidates do not have to loan their campaigns money to run aggressive races.

Austin Needs a Mayor not another Photo Op!

by: Featurewritr

Sun Feb 15, 2009 at 02:41 PM CST

Even though he was on the CAMPO board, and this was  clearly a CAMPO issue (it was once an arterial roadway), Brewster didn't have the courtesy to return one phone call or answer one email unlike everyone else involved.  Even CAMPO's Executive Director responded, as did Jennifer Kim and Better Dunkerly, along with numerous county and city officials.

I even called his aid and asked if there was a reason he was ignoring this issue? I also wanted to confirm that he was still serving on the Campo Board.  He was. I even went to Brewster's website.  Mostly what I saw was one photo op after another.  All that was missing was him holding and kissing a baby.

When the Austin American Statesman published the OP ED piece I wrote called Dangerous Trucks, the city and county sprung into action. They soon declared Bluff Springs Road a No Truck Zone.

Recently, when the doors sprung open at Austin Studios, there was Brewster, front row and center. I'll say one thing for him, he knows a photo op when he sees one.  But I had also heard he really didn't do much for the bond, in the beginning when it was most vulnerable.  

I will support Lee Leffingwell because what you see is what you get! All you need to do is compare the two websites. It's clear Lee has substance.

I recently found out that it was Lee who authored the bill to keep Town Lake Animal Center as a satellite adoption center when the shelter moves to the east side.  Maybe a small issue compared to the larger ones at stake, but it is important to me.  It also shows Lee is someone who understands compromise!

I hope Brewster is ready for his close up, because hopefully after this election, he won't be posing for too many more.

Marcia Zwilling
 

Brewster's Brainchild: Embracing the Future with the Pecan Street Project

by: JeffBrooks

Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 10:44 AM CST

In the late 18th Century, the English city of Birmingham was relatively prosperous, but certainly nothing to compare with the capital in London or the great trading centers of Liverpool and Glasgow.  It took some time for people to realize the city's vast untapped potential.  Most important were the men of the Lunar Society, an informal Birmingham dinner club of local business leaders and inventors, whose membership role reads like a who's-who of geniuses.  Meeting every evening there was a full moon (so there would be enough light to find their way home), this gathering of brilliant men endlessly debated and discussed how to apply new scientific discoveries and technological inventions to the improvement of their community.

Among the members of the Lunar Society were Matthew Boulton and James Watt, the two men most responsible for the development of steam power technology, who went into business together in 1775.  With Boulton providing the financial backing and Watt the inventive genius, Birmingham suddenly found itself transformed from a provincial backwater into the center of the Industrial Revolution.  The new steam engines provided the power, literally and figuratively, that shattered old ideas of trade and manufacturing and created an entirely new economic system.  By the beginning of the 19th Century, Birmingham had become a global economic powerhouse, while innumerable communities that had failed to embrace the future entered a state of decline from which they never recovered.

Austin in the early 21st Century has much in common with Birmingham in the late 18th Century.  As the old industrial model of fossil fuel power declines and the new model of alternative energy arises, our city is fortuitously positioned to take advantage of the coming changes.  Our people are highly educated and we have a well-earned reputation for technological innovation.  We are already ranked as one of the nation's leaders in alternative energy, largely thanks to forward-looking policies implemented by Austin Energy.  If we ranked American cities in order of how well-positioned they are to take advantage of the coming Green Economy, Austin would have to be close to the very top, if not at the pinnacle itself.

Few people understand this as well as Brewster McCracken, who has made the eager embrace of the emerging Green Economy one of the centerpieces of his time on the City Council.  Some cynics may denounce his attitude as "visionary" (is there something wrong with having vision?), but many unimaginative people doubtless pooh-poohed the men of the Lunar Society when they sought to lead Birmingham into its future.

McCracken's emphasis on alternative energy has found its most concrete manifestation in the Pecan Street Project.  By forming a great coalition between the city government, the University of Texas, the Environmental Defense Fund and an assortment of high-tech companies, the project intends to create a new energy matrix that not only will provide our great city with vast amounts of alternative energy, but will develop new energy technologies that can benefit both our city and the nation as a whole.  The project is unique in America and has the potential to play a major role in the development of the Green Economy, both locally and nationally.

Making Austin a center for the development of alternative energy is not only good in and of itself for obvious environmental reasons, but will serve as a powerful engine for Austin's economy.  The development of alternative energy will create untold numbers of new jobs for our city, just as the development of steam technology did for Birmingham during the Industrial Revolution, and, for that matter, just as the development of the semiconductor industry did for Austin in the 1990s.

It's ideas like the Pecan Street Project that make me support Brewster McCracken for mayor.  As much as I like and admire Lee Leffingwell, I frankly cannot see him taking the lead on issues such as this in the active and dynamic manner Brewster has.  As Brewster himself pointed out at the opening of his campaign office, we should hope and expect Austin not to emerge from the current economic turmoil merely intact, but rather as a stronger and better city than it was before the troubles began.

To end by bringing back the example with which I began this blog entry, Birmingham faced tough economic times and responded by daring to embrace the future.  Other communities with similar challenges responded by digging in their heels and trying to outlast the troubles using obsolete ways of doing things .  History rewarded Birmingham by making it one of the most prosperous cities in the world for more than a century, while the other communities eventually faded into total obscurity.  Austin would do will to remember this lesson of history.

Three City of Austin Lobbyists Hosted Brewster McCracken Fundraiser

by: David Mauro

Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 03:25 PM CST

Last week we wrote about the $830,000 the City of Austin is paying ten lobbying firms this legislative session.

Since then we have learned that three of the lobbyists hired by the City hosted a fundraiser for Brewster McCracken's mayoral campaign last month.

Marta Greytok, who was paid $80,000 by the City, and Andrea and Dean McWilliams, who were paid $90,000 by the City, were on a list of 12 hosts that includes other Republican lobbyists.

Here's the text of the fundraiser invitation, with the names in question in bold:

Please Join Us for a Fundraising Reception Honoring

Austin Candidate for Mayor

Brewster McCracken

Monday, January 26, 2009

5pm to 7 pm

The Austin Club 110 E. 9th Street Austin, Texas 78701

Honorary Sponsors at time of printing:

Brandon Aghamalian, Craig Chick, Galt Graydon, Marta Greytok, Deborah Ingersoll, Marsha Jones, Carol McGarah, Andrea McWilliams, Dean McWilliams, Shannon Ratliff II, Mark Vane, Kimberly A. Yelkin 

Whether it is merely in appearance, this does not look good and gives off a "pay to play" impression.

Should City of Austin lobbyists be taking sides in the Mayor's race?

Disclosure: I am a supporter of Lee Leffingwell for Mayor.

Houston GLBT Political Caucus endorses Annise Parker for mayor

by: Kabanx

Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 09:13 AM CST

"Annise Parker is the most qualified candidate to lead Houston as our nation struggles through a severe economic crisis," said Caucus President Kris Banks. "Like the rest of our city, the Houston GLBT community is bracing for tough times in the coming months and years. We need a steady, experienced hand to guide us.'

"Parker's proven leadership and record of fiscal responsibility and sound economic policy will ensure that Houston can continue to fund our most important priorities - public safety, stronger neighborhoods, infrastructure and quality city services.'

"With this endorsement, our members send a strong message: Qualifications matter now, more than ever. And no one is more qualified than Annise Parker to lead our city though tough economic times."

TONIGHT: Obama Activist Roundtable with Lee Leffingwell

by: Amy Everhart

Mon Feb 02, 2009 at 02:59 PM CST

What: Obama Activist Roundtable with Lee Leffingwell
When: Feb. 2, 2008, 6:30-8pm
Where: Lee for Mayor Campaign HQ, 700 N. Lamar

This will also be a chance to learn more about several of Lee's innovative proposals for the city including AustinCorps, the Mayor's Community Cabinet, Green Jobs Council, how we get our share of federal stimulus money and more.

Come on out, discuss the issues and check out our new campaign office. We hope to see you tonight!

Feel free to RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event....

- The Lee Team

PS - You can park in the Bookpeople lot or garage across the street from our office.

San Antonio mayor delivers final State of the City address

by: RBearSAT

Wed Jan 28, 2009 at 06:21 PM CST