Don't Forget to Vote Today

by: David Mauro

Sat Jun 14, 2008 at 00:44 PM CDT

By the end of the night, we will have a new councilmember for Place 4. While the last month of the campaign has been dominated by negative mailings and robocalls, we should remember that both candidates are actually well-qualified candidates and that neither is half as bad as their opponent would have you believe, as the Statesman's editorial this morning pointed out .

Both are good candidates, experienced in city government and possessing a long list of civic involvement. Morrison has been president of the Austin Neighborhoods Council, and Galindo has been a member of the city Planning Commission.

Despite their considerable achievements, the runoff campaign has been bitter, with charges, countercharges and repeated phone calls to voters’ homes. The candidates have attacked each other in advertisements for a month.

This page has endorsed Morrison in the runoff. We believe she has a broader grasp of city issues, and her years working out neighborhood disputes should give her good experience in resolving conflicting viewpoints on the council. Also, Morrison’s background in engineering and business should serve her well.

What are your thoughts on today's election?

While endorsements and her nine point lead in round one probably make Morrison the favorite, with turnout estimated to be at 25,000, Galindo certainly has a chance to pull an upset. 

Where to Vote: List of today's polling places
BOR Endorsement: Laura Morrison
Austin Chronicle Endorsement: Laura Morrison
Statesman Endorsement: Laura Morrison
Candidate's Websites: Morrison and Cid Galindo

Blockwalking, Betty and the Budget

by: Robin Cravey

Mon May 05, 2008 at 11:44 AM CDT

As I've said many times, I learned the budget process from Betty when she was city finance director and I was a city council aide. We got to be pretty good friends then, and that has endured.

Naturally, Betty has been a leader on budget issues on the council, and many folks will be sorry to see her go for that reason (among others!). But I can assure you, I intend to devote a lot of attention to the budget if I'm elected.

I've been pleased to see the council hold a series of work sessions on the budget. I've been calling for reinstituting the council worksessions as a way to make the council's work more open to the public. With the hectic pace of the campaign, I haven't been able to attend any of the worksessions, but I'm eager to get into the budget process and start working with the other members of the council to set spending priorities for the coming year.

(crossposted to www.robincravey.com)

Robin Cravey's Birthday Bash at Jovita's

by: Robin Cravey

Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 01:50 PM CDT

Saturday, April 26th
South Austin restaurant and live music venue Jovita's
5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Entertainment provided by The Regulars
Suggested donation $25 (all welcomed)
Sponsorships: $100, $200, $300

It was great seeing everyone at the Burnt Orange Report birthday party last night. Since the early 1970's I've enjoyed drinking beer with the progressive crowd at Scholtz's.

I am also going to be celebrating my birthday this weekend at Jovita's and I hope you will join me. Being the only candidate in the place 4 race from South Austin, we'll be celebrating at Jovita's on South First. A band Jane and I both love, The Regulars, will be providing us with South Austin style music.  Before the campaign, we used to go hear them every Friday evening at the Saxon Pub (if you know Jane and me, you'll know how rare it is for us to agree on music!).

I hope to see you there.

Fraternally,

Robin Cravey

More traffic on the sidewalks and less traffic on the streets

by: Robin Cravey

Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 03:43 PM CDT

If the city is an organism, then it's transportation system is both the circulatory system and the skeleton.

Today we have an inefficient, costly, and unhealthy transit system. At many hours of the day, in many places, it grinds to a standstill as too many cars and trucks jam the streets and highways. Frustrated drivers sit idle, engines running, clocks ticking, with thoughts of jobs or families waiting for them. Around them a toxic cloud of exhaust forms, rolling across the surrounding cityscape and rising into the hazy sky. We can do better.

Focus transit on the human being

We can have an efficient, thrifty, and even pleasant transit system. The first step is to put the human being at the focus of transit. Walking is our natural and independent way to travel. And it's healthy.

People will walk if it's convenient, safe, and enjoyable. We must change our development patterns so that people can live, work, shop, and play all within a short walk. Where that is not possible, there must be convenient transit within a short walk. We must make walking safe and enjoyable by providing wide clear sidewalks (get the utility poles out!) and shade trees and a comfortable buffer against car traffic. Naturally, all this will be accessible to the disabled.

Bicycling is our most efficient form of wheeled travel. It's non-polluting and carbon-free. And it's good exercise. We can make Austin a genuine bicycle town by completing our network of bike lanes, building connecting bridges, and expanding bicycle parking facilities and requirements. In addition, we should speed up the maintenance of our streets to make them safer for bicyclists.
 

Proposal for affordable housing at Green Water Treatment Plant site

by: Robin Cravey

Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 00:37 PM CDT

It's time for a radical change of direction, starting with the Green Water Treatment Plant site. As we issue a request for proposals to have major developers tell us what to do with this property, let's remember something. This is the people's property. We know what the people need.

It's time for a change of direction in the way we are pursuing the provision of affordable housing. And it's time for a change in the way we are selling off our public property.

For the past decade, the Council has moved to liquidate the wealth of city-owned property downtown and fronting Town Lake. And since 2000, it has dedicated 40% of the city tax revenue to be derived from those properties to a fund for affordable housing. This fund will be nice to have, but it's not enough. And it takes too long.

Hot pursuit on the Austin Police ridealong

by: Robin Cravey

Tue Feb 12, 2008 at 00:49 PM CST

It was a Saturday in Austin. At four o'clock I parked my scooter in the lot at the police substation on Springdale. My contact was Officer Roque Martinez, nickname "Rocky." He was a rookie-less than two years on the force-and for the next six hours he was going to be my guide to the underside of the city.

First I had to go into the substation and sign a form. I did.

Rocky and I climbed into the patrol car and cruised over to Charlie sector, the East Side. Driving a taxi for Roy's in the seventies, I knew these streets and alleys like the back of my hand. I had carried groceries into every kitchen from the interstate to Pleasant Valley. And I had hauled drunks out of every one of the bars, too.

Routine calls

As we prowled, Rocky punched license plate numbers into the computer on his dash, looking for BOLOs, 'be-on-the-look-outs'.

Robin and Rocky

Our first call was to a house on Willow Street. A tattooed man, shirtless, had been reported arguing with someone. We found him, and his belligerent beer-drinking friend, on the sidewalk. Tattooed man was upset and shaky, his friend aggressive. Backup arrived. Rocky put tattooed man in an ambulance for treatment for drug reaction. Backup took belligerent friend downtown for public intoxication. Rocky and I headed to the substation, where he wrote a report and turned in evidence. It took a while.

The evening wore on. We answered a call to a fight with ten people involved, but by the time we arrived we found only a woman with high blood pressure and her rowdy friends. An ambulance arrived to treat her high blood pressure. She had a warrant, so once her treatment was done we took her downtown.

Night fell. We answered a call for illegal dumping in an alley, and listened to an elderly lady talk about her neighbors. We answered a call to a car stalled on the interstate, and gave assistance. We answered a call to a car illegally parked, but then the evening took an interesting turn.

Hot pursuit

On the radio, the dispatcher was broadcasting a pursuit. An attempted vehicle burglary had been seen at Dell Children's Hospital, and the burglars had fled in a black Ford Expedition, an officer following in an unmarked car. The Expedition was heading south on Airport, heading west on Manor, south on Stafford, west on 22nd, south on Chestnut. It seemed to be zigzagging toward us. Rocky drove north, moving to intercept.