Runoff is Saturday, June 13; Riley Defeats Cavazos Nearly 2:1 in Place 1
Mayoral candidates Lee Leffingwell and Brewster McCracken will be forced to go to a runoff to decide who will be the next Mayor of Austin. The runoff will be Saturday, June 13.
With 100% of precincts reporting, Lee Leffingwell finished with a commanding lead on the field of five candidates with 47.26% of the vote. He won almost the same percentage of votes through the early vote period as he did on election day. Full results can be found here:
Election results from the Travis County Elections Division were reported throughout the night here at Burnt Orange Report through our site's new @texaselections widget. The results tally 58,630 votes cast, representing 13.01% of registered voters.
For about twenty minutes in the evening it looked like Leffingwell may tick up fast enough to reach the 50% threshold. But as more boxes came in, the returns evened out, and it became clear that a highly anticipated runoff would soon become a reality. Behind Leffingwell, Brewster McCracken won 26.8% of the vote, which will be enough to send him into a runoff. Slightly behind McCracken, once-Austin mayor and former Texas State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn finished has 21.43% of the vote, leaving her in a disappointing third place.
Burnt Orange Report writer David Mauro reported earlier in the night that in 1997, Ronney Reynolds conceded rather than face a runoff against Kirk Watson, who received 48.47% in his initial election. However, McCracken's campaign has clearly stated that McCracken will go forward for the runoff.
Rounding out the election returns for mayor, David Buttross won 3.84% of the vote, but may still be in for some exciting news. Earlier in the evening he went to the hospital for the possible birth of his second child. KXAN news is reporting Buttross and his wife were expecting a child before the night was over. Fourth place and a new child -- I'll bet he'll still be happy.
Josiah Ingalls, however, will have less to smile about. He finished in last place, with only 0.69% of the vote. Josiah has announced that he will be looking for a job on Monday -- he recently lost his position at the Hilton Hotel.
Riley Defeats Cavazos 65.52% - 34.48% in Place 1; Spellman, Martinez, & Cole Win Big
In the Austin City Council Place 1, which was expected to be the only other real contest on the ballot, Chris Riley defeated Perla Cavazos with over 65.52% of the vote. Cavazos thanked Riley for a hard-fought campaign, as Riley celebrated his victory with many supporters tonight, including Burnt Orange Report writer and Riley campaign manager, Katherine Haenschen.
In Place 2, Mike Martinez won a commanding 84.97% over Jose Quintero. Martinez' 43,630 votes were the most any candidate received in Saturday's election.
In Place 6, Sheryl Cole also won a decisive victory over Osemene Sam. Over 83.17% of voters chose Cole for the seat.
And finally, Bill Spellman won his unanimous election to Austin's Place 6 seat. Though he only needed his own, he did get 43,104 of the 58,630 voters to choose him, anyways.
To re-read Burnt Orange Report's all-night election coverage, scroll through our Twitter widget below for the recaps and updates we posted throughout the night.
We've reached that time, just days before the start of early voting in municipal elections, when campaigns finally take to the airwaves with their television buys. What fantastically awesome and awful ads await us this year? Continue on below to find out!
Mayoral Race: Brewster McCracken
Folksy-ish music? Yes.
On campaign message? Yes.
Walking into City Hall shot? Yes.
Actually see candidate talking? Yes.
Total number of pears left uneaten in family room? 7.
Folksier music? Yes.
On campaign message? It almost runs over you.
Walking into City Hall shot? No, like last year.
Actually see candidate talking? No, like last year.
Haven't we seen this footage before? Yes, like, you get the picture.
Likelihood for Phillip Martin to "hate" this: High.
Creepy, ominous music? Yes.
Creepy, fake cheery voice? Yes.
On campaign message? Yes, if crazy is a message.
City Hall shot? No, apparently City Hall moved since she was mayor.
Place 1: Chris Riley
Folksy music? Yes.
Number of bicycles in ad. 1.
Number of posed children. 5.
Walking into City Hall shot? Yes.
Born and raised inside city hall? Possibly.
Place 1: Perla Cavazos
Folksy music? Oh hell no.
Urban pseudo-latin spicy music? Oh hell yes!
Most memorable but most undefined message? Possibly.
Gives pro-downtown impression when played with sound off? Ironically, yes.
Laura Morrison-esque downtown building hate? NOOOOOOO! (meaning yes).
Number of Cesar Chavez Cavazos Cervezas I need now? Seis.
If this is what you call getting heated, let's just say it's going to take a long time for us to reach a raging fire in the Place 1 race.
The Austin Chronicle did their roundup of 30-day out campaign finance reports for city elections. Those saw Brewster raise a lot of money, Lee loan some to his campaign, but everyone in the Mayor's race having a decently large amount of cash on hand.
In place 1, Riley is now posting a 2-1 advantage over Cavazos in available campaign cash (about $50k to $25k). BUT the hot buzz was a charge leveled by the Cavazos camp that Riley had incorrectly reported his fundraising leaving $10,000 or so unaccounted for.
Except that they did on the last page of the report! Oh snap!
And by opening that can of worms, it allowed the Riley camp to throw back their own observation, that being that Cavazos not only filed her campaign finance report late, but also had to correct it because they forget to report their bundlers.
Double snap.
The only question I have is how do you run a highly contested council campaign going into the last month with just $25,000 on hand?
While there are now only six weeks before Early Voting begins, we still have 100% of the campaign left to go.
I want to thank those of you who have invested so much of your time, energy, creativity and hard-earned funds into my campaign for Austin City Council, Place 1. Together, we have built an amazing campaign full of diverse supporters.
I am so very proud to share with you that just this week, I have gained the endorsements of five additional leading Austin organizations: the Black Austin Democrats, Capital Area Progressive Democrats, South Austin Democrats, Stonewall Democrats and the Texas Environmental Democrats. These endorsements, combined with those of the Austin Firefighters and the Central Labor Council (which represents 23 individual groups), have brought significant momentum from 29 endorsing organizations towards a victory for all of us on May 9th.
Come help me celebrate and meet other supporters tonight, March 12th, at the Belmont from 5:30-7:30 at the Belmont (305 W 6th St). All are welcome!
Throughout my campaign for City Council, I have been focused on the ways we can position Austin to come out of this economic downturn as a strong economic leader. And, with my background working on economic issues through the Texas Association of Community Development Corporations and at the State Legislature, I know we can achieve this goal. As part of how we achieve long-term economic strength, we must look at ways to dig deep and make investments even in tough economic times. That is what I will do when I am on City Council, and that is what I am doing on my campaign.
As we are all taking a hard look at our budgets right now, I hope you will consider investing in our City's future over seeing one movie ($10), eating out one night ($25), or going out for one Friday night on the town ($50).
You can learn more about my platform, sign up to volunteer, or donate to my campaign by visiting my website, www.VotePerla.com. Thank you again for all of your support.
Best regards,
Perla
Ps. We'll be celebrating tonight with the heaters on, so I hope you'll join me for a warm reception tonight, Thursday, March 12th, from 5:30-7:30pm at the Belmont (305 W 6th St).
Pol. Adv. paid for by the Perla Cavazos Campaign, Jan Soifer, Treasurer. P.O. Box 11530, Austin, TX 78711. This campaign has not agreed to comply with the contribution and expenditure limits of the Austin Fair Campaign Chapter. As such, no public funds will be utilized.
(Perla Cavazos is running for Austin City Coucil Place 1. Welcome to BOR! - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Dear friends in the BOR community,
I am excited to post my first official campaign update to BOR! The campaign has been moving fast, and I appreciate the opportunity to share with you the growing momentum and excitement we’re seeing on the campaign trail.
I am proud to share with you that I have recently received endorsements from the Central Labor Council and the Austin Firefighters Association. These endorsements represent 24 individual groups of over 13,000 hard-working Austinites. Here is what Stephen Truesdell, President of the Firefighters Association, had to say about my candidacy:
"What impressed us about Perla is her commitment to planning and building community-wide support around core values. Perla's experience with the city and the legislature, and working with so many diverse groups, is the very leadership the city needs now to set priorities and protect essential services.”
This is a great honor, and I believe it reflects my commitment to address Austin’s affordability issues and protect the quality of life for all citizens. These endorsements are just one of many signs of the true, grassroots energy our campaign is generating on the ground.
I want to personally thank those of you who have invested so much of your time, energy, creativity and hard-earned funds into my campaign for Austin City Council, Place 1.
Since beginning my campaign late last year, Team Perla volunteers have been all over town sharing our vision with literally thousands of our neighbors and the entire Austin community. While I’ve been a foot soldier in numerous grassroots campaigns myself, I’m still blown away by the willingness of others to open up their homes for coffees, devote their free time on Saturdays to go door-to-door through neighborhoods, and put in extra hours after work to work the phones and help build a better future for all of us.
In addition to the endorsements of Austin Firefighters and the Central Labor Council, I am also proud to share with you that a number of Austin leaders have recently joined my growing list of supporters, including: Pat Crow, Melanie Barnes, John Lipscombe, Kathy Rider (former president of AISD School Board), Lucille and Walter Timberlake, Elizabeth Yevich ( former executive Director of Travis County Democratic Party), and Marguerite Jones. These leaders join a long list of supporters, including Former Mayor Gus Garcia, Former Mayor Bruce Todd and Elizabeth Christian, Hon. Ann Kitchen, Hon. Nelda Wells Spears, Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, Dr. Fred L. McGhee, and Joe and Janis Pinelli. For a full list of updated supporters, click here.
From the very start, I have tried to use my campaign for Austin City Council to spark an open and honest dialogue on what Austin needs to do to plan for the future. My policy initiatives outline immediate steps to promote entrepreneurialism and small businesses; address affordability issues, including energy, transportation, and healthcare; and put plans in place for Austin's economic comeback, from partnering with schools to developing community support for a Medical School in Austin.
I invite you to learn more about my platform and get involved in my campaign by visiting my website, www.VotePerla.com. Thank you again for all of your support! I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail this week!
Enough stuff to catch up on that I'm going to dump it all into this post.
Mayor's Race
Carole Strayhorn is apparently too busy to attend 3 forums this week with her opponents. Maybe she'll be too busy to attend City Council meetings as well if she's elected Mayor.
As McCracken has founded his own campaign on forward-looking technologies such as solar power, his adamant defense of the project was no surprise. And as Martinez is surmised to be Leffingwell's proxy on issues the candidate would rather not wade into at the moment, his fulsome call for caution shouldn't surprise either. Maybe most surprising was Lef fing well's virtual absence from the debate - as politicians take pains to appear cautious, they may not want to remain overly so.
Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt writes an unprompted explaining of her endorsement of Leffingwell on her website. Go read it, but also did anyone notice the URL of the post? "a-word-about-jennifer-gale"? I KNEW IT. Jennifer Gale is reaching out to us to endorse Lee Leffingwell from the world beyond.
Speaking of endorsements, Leffingwell is apparently rolling out 2 more groups and 6 more elected officials Friday at Noon at his campaign office. Could that be the turning point? Maybe if those officials start working their communities. I don't think we've seen anything like that in a municipal race in many years.
Mike Martinez unopposed. Iterated his support for Leffingwell during the University Democrats meeting yesterday which I sense is leaning more towards Lee now. That's important because Leffingwell is pretty much guaranteed to win the Central Austin Democrats endorsement meaning he'd get the Austin Progressive Coalition endorsement and 5000+ doorhangers in central Austin as a result.
Austin City Council, Place 5
Bill Spelman unopposed, though there is still a week and a half to file. Not that we want anyone to file since Bill would be excellent on the council.
Upcoming events include...
South Austin House Party (Oak Hill)
Saturday, March 7
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Home of Valerie & Brian Reis
6516 Rotan Drive, 78749
North Austin House Party
Thursday, March 12
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Home of Dawn & Fred Lewis
4509 Edgemont, 78731
Austin City Council, Place 6
Sheryl Cole still only faces Sam Osemene. Really. That's it. This race is even more boring than Place 2 & 5 and Cole actually has an opponent. Then again, the only question is if she wins by 20 points or 40.
(This is on at 8PM tonight for those that would like to tune in to listen. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
DJordan, DJosh and I will be dodging rhetorical bullets on Wednesday night as Austin City Council Place 1 candidates Perla Cavazos and Chris Riley rumble.
The two go head-to-head for the first time, on "Tons of Fun," hoping to win our hearts.
Purpose: 91.7FM KVRX Austin City Council Place 1 debate
Date: Wednesday, Feb18, 2009
Time: 8PM-830PM
Location: 91.7FM or http://www.listen.KVRX.org Details: Live, on-air
Call-in: 512.495.5879(KVRX)
Austin's been through a lot in the last few years. Got anything that's keeping your spirits down/lifting your spirits up? Stop Domain Subsidies vs. Keep Austin's Word? Live Music Task Force?
If you have any questions, please include them in a response to this blog posting, or you can call-in! 512.495.5879(KVRX).
Tons of Fun is a political free-form talk show on 91.7FM KVRX - UT-Austin's student-run radio station. ToF was awarded an Honorable Mention in Public Affairs radio from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association in the spring of 2008.
Another early endorser, the Central Labor Council in Austin has met and issued endorsements in the following races.
Mayor: Lee Leffingwell
Place 1: Perla Cavazos
Place 2: Mike Martinez
Place 5: Bill Spelman
Place 6: Sheryl Cole
Someone pointed out these two crazy similar pictures from today's office openings. (The McCracken one being from Michael Bartnett of the Austin Chronicle.) I unfortunately wasn't able to make any of them because my bike got a flat and I was dealing with that today.
And here is some video from today's McCracken office opening.
(I haven't had a chance to write up anything about Cavazos's kick off last night so I'll promote Rachel's report of the event. Be careful though, I believe she ate some of the guacamole paid for by the campaign so she could be labeled a sell-out. (inside joke) - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Disclosure: Perla is a friend of mine. I gave her $25. Sometimes we eat BBQ together. Crossposted at MeanRachel.com.
Last night the Perla Cavazos for Austin campaign got kicked off at Nuevo Leon, where Austinites packed into the East Austin establishment to get their hands on Perla Cavazos's pink & gold signs and hear her plan for the future of Austin's economy, affordability and healthcare issues.
Perla started off her speech by touching on the economic crisis, referencing the recent news that Starbucks was closing over 300 stores, the locations on South Congress and Stassney being two of them. Perla, who I first got to know when volunteering for Democratic candidate for Congress Larry Joe Doherty, admitted she was "not a Starbucks girl" (true: while blockwalking, we had a heated debate over Little City versus Progress) but that she "knows a lot of people who have jobs that pay even less than what baristas make, and their jobs don't come with health insurance."
Perla initially came to Austin to promote affordable housing, on a fellowship from the National Council of La Raza. She touched on Austin's affordability issues affecting not just coffee shop employees, but those recently laid off from tech companies or working in government jobs trying to pay the bills while saving money. Two of those Austinites happen to be her brother and sister, both in school and still working to get by.
The solution, according to Perla, is planning. She said that while serving on the Austin Planning Commission, her biggest frustration was that "we were constantly reacting." The concept of acting versus reacting, planning ahead rather than compensating later, is "what the city needs now...not just one more vote with the majority," Perla said.
Both Chris Riley and Perla Cavazos will have a difficult time labeling their opponent "Republican-lite" in this year's Austin City Council Place 1 race.
Both candidates' political contributions in state races are 100% Democratic, according to TEC online records.
Of course, I wouldn't imagine this is news to any of the people closely involved in this race. But for the rest of us, I thought I would take a look and see what kind of candidates Riley and Cavazos had contributed to in the past.
Chris Riley contributed to the following Democratic campaigns and groups:
Travis County Democratic Party, Neighbor to Neighhbor PAC, Valinda Bolton, Donna Howard, Texas League of Conservation Voters, Rose Spector, Chris Bell, Juan Garcia, Eddie Rodriguez, Annie's List, Kirk Watson, Bree Buchanan, Stephen Yelenosky, Elliot Naishtat, Mark Strama, Jim Sharp, Jim Sylvester, Glen Maxey.
Perla Cavazos contributed to the following Democratic campaigns and groups:
Gisela Triana, Annie's List, Travis County Democratic Party, Capitol Area Democratic Women PAC, Orlinda Naranjo, Chris Bell, Valinda Bolton, Donna Howard, NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, Diane Henson, Mina Brees, Eddie Lucio, Mark Strama, Diana Maldonado.
Due to the Democratic nominance in the city, in Austin's current city council at-large system, it is nearly an impossible for a Republican to get elected.
Had either candidate had contributions to Republican candidates, it likely would have become a topic at Democratic club meetings and perhaps even been used in campaign mailers.
Remember last year's race when Laura Morrison brought up Cid Galindo's Republican voting and contribution history? It definitely was part of what helped her achieve a comfortable runoff victory. But that shouldn't be an issue this year in Place 1.
Should City Council races have Democratic Primary-like partisan litmus tests? Whether we like it or not, in Austin they certainly do.
