The Fight for Geographic Representation: Mark Your Calendars!
TheAustinBulldog.org constructed maps that pinpoint the residential location of every mayor and council member elected over the last four decades. It will tell you all you need to know about why citizen organizations, from across the spectrum, are coming together to push for a public vote on geographic representation. Read it here, share it, and consider a matching fund donation to the feisty (and hungry!) Bulldog to help counter the Statesman’s on-going efforts to stop us.
Meanwhile…please plan to join us at our next meeting of ChangeAustin.org.
What Citizens Must Do As the City Budget Hearings Begin Soon!
Come Find out!
Monday, August 15th, 6:30 to 8 pm
Manchaca Library, 5500 Manchaca (@Stassney)
Guest Speaker: Bill Oakey
Bill is one of the most effective citizen activists in Texas who got the Texas legislature to enact two bills into law. One was the over-65 freeze on school property taxes. The other was a “truth in taxation” law, which reformed the guidelines for public hearing notices on property taxes published by all statewide taxing entities. Currently, Bill is working on plans to address out-of-control property tax and utility rate increases in the Austin area.
For more information call us at 535-0989 or email us at Contact@ChangeAustin.org
Sign the Petition/Voter Pledge – No Abusive Formula 1 Subsidies!
Sign the Petition/Voter Pledge to Abusive F1 Subsidies!
The Austin City Council vote on the F1 subsidy was postponed to next Wednesday! Even if the Austin City Council manages to keep city money out of the deal (we doubt it), their vote will still trigger STATE tax dollars — at least $250 million. Please call the Council at 974-2000 on Monday or Tuesday and simply ask them to vote NO on F1. Or you can email them all here: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/groupemail.htm. And, don’t forget to ask friends and family to do the same. Thank you Austin!
PS You might watch this video to learn how the Comptroller cooked the books on F1.
No time to rest on Tovo victory, Contact the council NOW – postpone the F1 vote!
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Statesman on Who’s Funding Shade – Vote Tovo Y’all!
We weren’t the ones who said it. It was the Statesman who made clear that Kathie Tovo deserves a chance to represent us and the incumbent, Randi Shade, should be sent home. Read it and vote today — Saturday, June 18th — or forever hold your peace!
Development community generous in giving to Randi Shade
Join us in Taking Back Austin! Forward this message or forever hold your peace!
Please join us in taking back our great city of Austin. Forward this message to your Austin voting friends or send it out through your online social networks:
My friends at ChangeAustin.org endorsed Kathie Tovo for Austin City Council. Saturday, June 18th, is your last chance to vote in this runoff election. Polls are open 7 to 7.
I am supporting Kathie Tovo because I agree with ChangeAustin.org that we cannot afford another term of Randi Shade who has shown zero fiscal restraint, voting for every property tax and utility hike put before her. Meanwhile, Council Member Shade is taking contributions from developers who who are reaping great benefits by offloading the costs of growth on to Austin residents. And, least we forget, her contributors include the promoters of Formula 1, owned by billionaires, who are continuing to seek a taxpayer subsidy while telling us otherwise.
It’s time for a new voice on the Council – Kathie Tovo — who has already helped save the city $40M, facing down a portion of the Formula 1 giveaway. We look forward to doing so much more with Kathie to take back our city and the taxpayer dollars needed for basic city services.
Breaking! Tovo & Supporters Save Austin $40M…But who wouldn’t give $40M to get $250M?
Formula One owners have bowed to Austin voters and insurgent candidate Kathie Tovo who are opposed to using public money for the Formula 1 racetrack now under construction in Austin, Texas. Today, Formula 1 pledged to put up the entire $4 million city match – $40 million over the life of the contract – in order to receive the $25 million per year for ten years from the state of Texas.
Brian Rodgers of ChangeAustin.org, one of the groups leading the fight to stop the public subsidy of F1 said, “This is a great victory for Austin taxpayers and we thank the candidate we endorsed, Kathie Tovo, for standing strong and leading the opposition. Tovo and our determined wall of community activists blocked this bad deal and forced the hand of the Formula 1 investors which was heading for a majority council rubber stamp approval next week.”
Richard Viktorin of Audits in the Public Interest, who performed a forensic analysis of State Comptroller Susan Comb’s economic and fiscal estimate of the Formula deal said, “Kathie Tovo and all of us fighting this, just saved $40 million for the taxpayers of Austin. Now, let’s see if the Texas legislature takes this subsidy down as they’re still trying to figure out where to find more money for public education. Formula 1 is, so far, still getting a great deal. It doesn’t take CPA to understand that a $4M trade for $25M, for each of 10 years, is a winner for Formula One yet still a bad deal for beleaguered Texas taxpayers.”
Susan Moffat Speaks Out Against Formula 1
Susan Moffat, unlike some Council members who are cowtowing to their Formula 1 billionaire buddies, nails it — this Formula 1 deal is such a taxpayer rip off. So, what’s the City’s big rush? To make sure they have a vote for it from Randi Shade, just in case she’s defeated by Kathie Tovo this next week in the runoff election.
Pull the Shade people! Early polls are open through Thurs., June 16. Election day is June 18th. The city is going to vote on this turkey on June 23rd.
What’s the damn hurry on F1? (We need money for the fight!)
What’s the damn hurry on Formula 1?
Answer: Randi Shade could be gone by June 23rd when the Council votes on it!
In the midst of massive cut backs and layoffs, Austin voters are telling us they are UNEQUIVOCALLY OPPOSED to this misuse of taxpayer dollars.
Watch this 3 minute video of Susan Moffat, former legislative researcher, local activist and wife one of the founders of South by Southwest who nailed it at yesterday’s City Council meeting.
The hogs are at the trough – take action OR give us some of your dough to fight for you.
| Susan Moffat – Formula One |
Pull the Shade, elect Kathie Tovo and send the F1 billionaires a message: Pay Your Own Way — like us regular taxpayers!
1. Click here, print out the flier and take it to your neighbors.
2. We’ve got tons of phone calls you can do from home — call us to help!
(Need to make some extra money — call us!)
3. Early voting locations — pass to all your friends. Early voting is now through Thursday, June 16th. Election day is Saturday, June 18th.
Pull the Shade – Elect Tovo – Stop F1 Subsidies
Help us Pull the Shade, elect Kathie Tovo, and defeat yet another shameful tax dollar giveaway, this time to the billionaires at Formula 1.
There’s a BIG uptick in early voting in this runoff! It IS a meaningful race with clear differences. Here’s our take:
We’re getting into the race to Stop F1 Subsidies, Elect Kathie Tovo for Austin City Council & Help Pull the Shade!
ChangeAustin.org proudly endorses Kathie Tovo against current Austin City Council incumbent Randi Shade in the runoff election for City Council, Place 3. Our endorsement is based on Shade’s refusal to oppose a taxpayer subsidy to Formula 1 racing and her opposition to fair geographic representation for Austin voters. Read more here.
Wanna help us pull the Shade, tell F1 to pay its own way and to elect Tovo?
1. Click here, print out the flier and take it to your neighbors.
2. We’ve got tons of phone calls you can do from home — call us to help! (Need to make some extra money — call us!)
3. Early voting locations — pass to all your friends.
Or just forward this message to help rattle the bones of Austin voterswho haven’t been voting, who were looking for a reason to!
Here’s Bill Aleshire at the West Austin Democrats last week on F1. (Thanks to Todd Wroblewski for the filming.)
PS Go here for information on polling sites. Shade’s big money supporters in Austin’s growth machine are running negative and misleading ads — tell your neighbors to pull the Shade!
We proudly endorse Tovo, Pull the Shade, Stop F1 subsidies
ChangeAustin.org proudly endorses Kathie Tovo against current Austin City Council incumbent Randi Shade in the runoff election for City Council, Place 3 based on Shade’s refusal to oppose a taxpayer subsidy to Formula 1 racing and her opposition to fair geographic representation for Austin voters.
The endorsement acknowledges Kathie Tovo’s opposition to city subsidies for Formula 1 and her enthusiastic support for fair geographic representation (single-member districts) combined with a process that would take the redistricting process out of the hands of the Austin City Council and put it in the hands of a non-partisan redistricting commission.
ChangeAustin.org was co-founded by Brian Rodgers who fought the Domain Mall subsidies and most recently broke the story on the Austin City Council’s “round-robin” open meetings violations. Rodgers said, “It is clear to us that Council Member Shade supports subsidies for Formula 1 and can’t see past the cockeyed economic projections put forth by State Comptroller Susan Combs and the promoters and billionaire owners of Formula 1. Spending $290 million of taxpayer money on a sports franchise in the midst of school closures and social service cuts is a despicable act of runaway government. In addition, Shade does not support geographic representation for city council elections, even though all council members live inside the central city. ChangeAustin members living outside the central city feel politically marooned and have shown enthusiastic support for single member districts while Councilwoman Shade has been pushing a process to keep just another version of the at-large system in place.”
In contrast, Kathie Tovo has run commercials alerting Austinites to the proposal to help divert tax dollars to Formula 1. She also enthusiastically supports single-member districts and believes changing our current system will ensure more geographic representation on the City Council and produce more economic diversity among candidates. She believes Council races have become very costly and time-consuming, which discourages many excellent candidates from pursuing public office. She has also said she will work with the City and community stakeholders to hold a series of public hearings across the community to allow the public to decide what Austin’s new system should look like. This includes a non-partisan redistricting process to take the politics out of drawing district lines.
ChangeAustin.org has a flier they’re asking voters to circulate in their communities and on the internet which can be found here. Live phone calls are now underway to reach thousands of Austin voters who opposed the Domain subsidies in 2008.
Linda Curtis, co-founder of ChangeAustin.org, said, “We are calling on ChangeAustin.org’s supporters to help us break through the cynicism that Austinites feel about their officials — a big reason why they’re not voting. It will take neighbors talking to neighbors to help get folks to the polls. We need your help to reach 12,000 of our supporters!”
Early voting starts today, June 6th and runs through Tuesday, June 14th. Election day is Saturday, June 18th. Polls are open 7 to 7. Early and election day voting polls and information for Travis County and Williamson County are here.
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