Last night the war of words between CM Mackenzie Kelly and a couple of her biggest boosters got even weirder. Kelly’s vanquished foe Jimmy Flannigan even got involved, cheering Kelly’s apparent break from her allies: To which Kelly responded with a GIF she made of the alleged grifters themselves: Mackowiak and the co-founder of Save … Continue reading Mack attack ceasefire: Mackenzie & Mackowiak make up … sort of →

I didn’t realize the enormous encampment just a few blocks from where I live had been cleared yesterday afternoon until I saw people on Twitter fighting about who should get credit for it. And then I saw the Statesman: Austin officials closed a second homeless encampment, relocating dozens of people, to a city-owned hotel, and, in … Continue reading An encampment cleared … who gets credit? →

So on Friday City Manager Spencer Cronk released his proposed FY 2021-22 budget. As expected, he has proposed restoring the police department’s funding to its 2019 level to avoid “catastrophic” (his words) financial penalties from the state. The ease with which the budget is being restored illustrates how overstated the whole “defunding” thing was last summer, … Continue reading Cronk “refunds” APD →

Those who supported Prop B, notably Save Austin Now, the PAC led by GOP operative Matt Mackowiak, stressed that their goal was not to “criminalize” homelessness. The camping that had been allowed to proliferate, they argued, was a threat to the housed and unhoused alike. After Prop B passed, the group was outraged when APD … Continue reading Save Austin Now shifts the goal posts →

There has been some predictable politicking in response to the tragedy on 6th Street. For instance, Adam Loewy, a personal injury attorney rumored to be considering a run for higher office, perhaps mayor, blamed City Council for the challenges EMS had in responding to the shooting. Actually, Council did not slash EMS funding. The budget … Continue reading Austin still spends more than other cities on police →

This afternoon City Council will debate how to spend $143.6M of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The feds have given the city $188.4M in undesignated “local fiscal assistance” that it can basically use on whatever, but it has already committed $45M to pandemic-related spending. The mayor released a proposed framework on … Continue reading What kind of rescue are we getting? →

Also, Cap Metro wins in Leander & the Uber economy shows its true colors.

Today the city released 45 city-owned properties under consideration for sanctioned homeless encampments. Here’s the list: When sanctioned encampments on city property were first discussed the other week, a couple people joked about Lions Municipal Golf Course, which is part of the Brackenridge Tract owned by UT but leased by the city. One Council aide told … Continue reading City unveils potential camping sites →

A strong mayor without a veto That’s another way to go. I like the idea of electing an “administration” along with a mayor, but I don’t see a compelling reason for the mayor to have a veto. The campaign for a strong mayor (Prop F) was spectacularly crushed (87-13). Prop F proposed replacing the city … Continue reading A better strong mayor →