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

Austin GLBT Groups Endorse in City Council Race

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Sat Mar 22, 2008 at 04:44 PM CDT

ALGPC

Place 1 - Lee Leffingwell

Place 3 - Randi Shade

Place 4 - Laura Morrison

Stonewall Democrats

Place 3 - Randi Shade

Place 4 - Laura Morrison

It's Time

by: droberts3121

Fri Mar 21, 2008 at 11:56 AM CDT

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?

Austin City Council Races Already Heating Up

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Thu Oct 18, 2007 at 05:22 PM CDT

Political consultant Elliott McFadden is going to run the re-election campaign of Austin City Council Member Jennifer Kim.

The pairing is somewhat surprising, given that McFadden ran the campaign of Kim's opponent, Margot Clarke, in 2005. But both Kim and McFadden said today that any ill will from the 2005 campaign is water under the bridge. They're gearing up for a potentially tough fight this year against Internet entrepreneur Randi Shade, a former executive director of the Texas Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service under Gov. Ann Richards.

Meanwhile, Kim's 2005 campaign manager, Amy Everhart, is endorsing Shade this time around, saying: "I had pretty high expectations of Jennifer" that Kim has not lived up to. Everhart now works for the ACLU, a group that's opposing an ordinance that Kim has championed to crack down on panhandling.

I can't say that I don't miss it.

Update: I see the Statesman has chimed in with a preliminary piece on the race.