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The Austin Bulldog
Watson ekes out win over Israel in mayoral runoff
The margaritas were flowing in Celia Israel’s camp after the polls closed last night, the food was plentiful, and the crowd was lively. But the real party didn’t start until about 9:45pm at Kirk Watson’s camp, after the last results were reported from Williamson County. Watson got...
Watson moved to Austin to run for mayor
Watson criticized Celia Israel for doing in 2021 what he did in 1996. As the Bulldog reported December 5th, in a video released December 2nd, mayoral candidate Kirk Watson said, “The truth is my opponent only moved into the city of Austin last year to run for mayor. The first vote she’ll cast in a mayor’s race in 20 years will be for herself.”
Men dominant in runoff election finances
The men in the runoffs maintained their perfect streak of being better fundraisers than their women opponents. This is true in all four Austin City Council races to be decided in the December 13th runoff elections. Yet the men’s money mastery did not always translate into decisive results in the...
The scoreboard for eight runoff candidates
Early voting by personal appearance continues through December 9th for the December 13th election of a mayor and new council members for Districts 3, 5 and 9. The campaigns for 34 candidates have been going on for a long time—in fact more than a year for the three runoff candidates who announced in 2021 (Jose Velasquez in District 3, Stephanie Bazan in District 5, and Zohaib Qadri in District 9). Now we’re down to the eight finalists who want to win a place on the council dais.
Celia Israel in the hot seat in final stretch of mayoral campaign
Closing attacks focus on Israel’s record, policy proposals. State Representative Celia Israel went from underdog to frontrunner overnight November 8th when she pulled off a surprise first-place finish in a six-way mayoral race. That’s given her campaign momentum heading into a December 13th runoff against former State Senator Kirk...
Celia Israel blasted for defunding crime victims—but is it true?
Mayoral candidate said funding for victims was a “feel good” measure. A political action committee backing mayoral candidate Kirk Watson, Stand Together Austin, has sent text messages to voters accusing Celia Israel of blocking funding for crime victims in the 2021 legislative session. One such text stated, “Hello,...
Mayor Watson’s scheme broke law, Senator Watson’s bill provided alternative
Former council member said that as mayor Watson established regularly scheduled private meetings among council members. “If the law is upheld only by government officials, then all law is at an end.”. — Herbert Hoover, message to Congress, 1929. As Austin’s mayor starting in 1997 Kirk Watson established a procedure...
Lame duck council set to vote on 20-year sweetheart tax deal for developer
With just weeks to go in his term, Mayor Steve Adler is seeking to finalize a sweetheart tax deal for a developer that donated tens of thousands of dollars to his reelection campaign and those of other council members. The council has scheduled a vote for December 1st to amend...
Court denies Fair Campaign restraining order
After losing court decision, runoff candidates Alter and Velasquez dropped their claim for a share of the Fair Campaign Finance Fund. Only runoff candidates Daniela Silva and Linda Guerrero, in Districts 3 and 9, respectively, will each get shares of the Austin Fair Campaign Finance Fund for having signed and complied with Campaign Contracts. The Austin Bulldog reported November 15th they will each receive $33,063.27.
Why was voter turnout so low?
Ballots cast in Travis County dropped despite population growth. Texas just wrapped up its most expensive gubernatorial race in history, yet the money didn’t drive voter turnout higher. Statewide only 46 percent of registered voters cast ballots, compared to 53 percent in 2018. In Travis County, the drop-off was...
Guerrero and Silva earn $33,000 runoff bonuses
Guerrero’s attorney says he will file suit if the city authorizes Fair Campaign Fund payments to other runoff candidates. On November 11th via email, Austin City Clerk Myrna Rios told The Austin Bulldog that two of the eight candidates competing in runoff elections would be eligible to receive funding from the Austin Fair Campaign Finance Fund.
Mayoral race and three council contests will go to runoff
Israel and Watson advance; incumbents avoid runoffs. Mayoral candidates Kirk Watson and Celia Israel advanced to a runoff last night after an election season focused on Austin’s growing pains: the rising cost of living, the lack of affordable housing, crowded roadways, and a growing homeless population. Israel, who had...
Watson grabbed 70 percent of mayoral donations
Watson also pulled in 40 percent of all campaign donations to all candidates since the 2022 campaigns started. Former state senator and current mayoral candidate Kirk Watson managed to spend more than $830,000 in the just three weeks. He’s trying to win back the office he abandoned in 2001, midway through a second term. And yet he still had $113,000 in cash on hand.
Watson circumvented law to fund new medical school
Senator Kirk Watson said to have admitted Central Health didn’t have legal authority to fund medical education. A decade ago, then State Senator Kirk Watson, who’s now running for mayor of Austin, dreamed of a creating a new medical school in Austin. Critics say he achieved that goal by knowingly disregarding constitutional and statutory restrictions.
What kind of legislator was Celia Israel?
Mayoral candidate Celia Israel served four and a half terms in the Texas House. Celia Israel was a freshman in the Texas House and just starting her first legislative session when current Austin Mayor Steve Adler assumed office in January 2015. During the eight years that Adler sat on the...
What kind of mayor was Watson?
Kirk Watson, the highest-profile Democrat running to be Austin’s next mayor, has long ago been there, done that, and yet he wants another crack at leading city government. Which raises the question: what kind of a mayor was he before? And what does that portend for the city if he defeats the other five people running for the job?
Candidates offer competing visions on homelessness
The current Austin City Council has made it a priority to boost funding for homeless services, but some mayoral and council candidates think the city hasn’t done enough, while others see the current efforts as misguided and ineffective. Among the six candidates running for mayor and the 28 running...
2022 candidates have raised $3 million-plus
Collectively the candidates have more than $2 million cash on hand to run blow-out campaigns through November 8th election day. Mayoral candidate Kirk Watson continues to dominate fundraising. He’s netted more than $1.2 million through the latest campaign finance reports. That’s 41 percent of the total accepted by all 34 candidates. In addition, he’s got more than $820,000 in cash on hand, which means voters can expect to see lots and lots of television, direct mail, and social media coverage. (For details on all the candidates campaign finances click on the accompanying graphic to pull up our analysis spreadsheet.)
Environmentalists assail plan for lakeside high rises
New development to reshape South Central Waterfront. When former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson created the Town Lake Beautification Committee in 1971, she hardly could have imagined the scale of the development that would one day take place along the banks of the waterway that would later be renamed for her.
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