The assistant city manager over public safety, Huffman has impressed us with her calm and careful handling of potentially explosive issues, like the strengthening of the city's noise ordinance and, especially, APD's response to anti-war protests. Huffman's commendable performance gives us a different kind of homeland security.

City Council Assistant City Manager
P.O. Box 1088
512/974-7079

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We thought nothing could match Austin’s March 15 response to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, for which 7,000 or so fired-up citizens gathered at the Capitol for a rousing chorus of firebrand speeches and a community statement of defiance – and a few days later as the bombing began, a couple of thousand more marched from UT into Downtown to give notice that the anti-war movement is back. As the empire lashed out, we were finding our voices again. Then state Democrats organized a barnburner of a rally at the Capitol for the Texas 11, still in exile in Albuquerque, on a barnburner of a Saturday, where folks from all over Texas denounced the latest power-grab of the nefarious Tom DeLay. EMS was on hand for the 110-degree heat, but nobody could put out the fire.

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It can’t be said that the Lege moved on its own initiative – that credit goes to much hard and relentless work by family, local citizens, pro bono lawyers (and journalists), the NAACP, the ACLU, and a host of other civil rights organizations. But Austin Republican Keel and Houston Democrat Ellis put together the legislative strategy to make it bureaucratically and politically possible for the unjustly convicted and jailed Tulia defendants to breathe free air for the first time in many months. The battle is far from over, in the Panhandle or elsewhere, but credit is due to elected officials who finally managed to do the right thing. Keep it up.

Rep. Terry Keel
PO Box 2910
512/463-0652

Sen. Rodney Ellis
PO Box 2910
512/463-0113

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The Wheel of Justice moves by very slow degrees, and thus far the OPM has won more public-relations battles than judicial ones – but a journey of several thousand miles has to begin somewhere. Austin’s cops are rightly proud of their standards and practices, but there is plenty of room for improvement – and simply having an official source for public input and output is a small but important leap forward. There is still a long way to go – procedures, training, and oversight all need work – but if we are to get there from here, the monitor’s office will provide a cutting edge.

Office of the Police Monitor
1106 Clayton Ste. 100-E
512/974-9090

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Rep. Dukes wasn’t alone on this one – Texas House April 29, on HB 15. She was dramatically joined by Houston’s Jessica Farrar, as well as dozens of reps (including Elliott Naishtat and Eddie Rodriguez) who fought to amend a bill designed to restrict women’s reproductive rights by delay, misinformation, and other obstacles. But in late April as the bill moved toward final passage, Dukes finally had heard enough sanctimony from the hard right about defending the rights and health of pregnant women. "This bill is nothing but a smoke screen so that women will be frightened during that 24-hour time period and coerced into changing their minds," she declared. "Well, put a burqua over me and a veil over my head, because I obviously have no rights. A woman has no rights in this state, when they are being given misinformation and misled and there’s no attempt to balance the information."

Rep. Dawnna Dukes
PO Box 2910
512/463-0498

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Though not out there directly advocating an agenda, the Austin Progressive Potluckers are making an important impact politically and socially: They help people interact and connect. The Potluckers don't restrict themselves to one area of social change, either. Each month, they pick a different local group – environmental, political, or even spiritual – and they crash their party. Hey, at least they bring food. Basically, this introduces members of the host organization to some hungry activists, and it lets the growing number of Potluckers try many new groups and causes on for size. Networking, the key ingredient in any social movement, expands exponentially.

Austin Progressive Potluckers
512/454-6542
www.austinprogressivecalendar.com/potluck.htm

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We know, we know ... there are many more honorable reasons to admire the Honorable Dawnna Dukes, such as her brilliant mind, her skillful lawmaking prowess, and her passionate advocacy for her East Austin district, as well as for Texans in general. But admit it: Given a choice between watching her and, say, Warren Chisum ... who would you rather watch legislate? Yeah, we thought so.

Offices of State Representative Dawnna Dukes
State Capitol, Room Ext. E2.808
512/463-0506
www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist46/dukes.htm

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It took the Austin Free-Net – not a big corporate donor, not a foresighted government agency, but a community collective of real citizens – to get the Internet into the Austin Public Library. Under the leadership of community activist (and poet) Ana Sisnett, the Free-Net has built on this foundation to bring not just cyber-excitement but real computer literacy – and the associated job and life skills – down to street level in Austin's communities of need. The Free-Net has helped all of Austin remember why this high tech thing is important: It can change the world.

PO Box 2013, Austin, 78768, 326-9084, www.austinfree.net

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It was not a good year for progressive victories at the Lege, but Pasadena popinjay Republican Robert Talton failed once again in his perennial attempt (HB 194) to make the lives of gay families more miserable and the life chances of orphan children just a little more desperate. Despite the ascendance of the GOP over the whole Capitol, they still couldn’t manage this transparent blow against simple compassion and family values – and much of the credit for their defeat goes to the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby, which worked diligently to line up public opposition and private allies, and brought out the troops every time the bill stuck its ugly head up in committee. Which it will no doubt do again in 2005, and we know the LGRL will rise to the challenge once again.

Equality Texas
512/474-5475
www.equalitytexas.org

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It doesn't take a CPA to understand that money influences politics, but it does require a certain bloodhound/watchdog breed to sniff out corruption on the campaign finance trail – and then alert the rest of us. This is where Craig McDonald of Texans for Public Justice, Fred Lewis of Campaigns for People, and Cris Feldman, a laywer in private practice (formerly of TPJ), come into play. They were among the first to make hay out of the millions in secret corporate dollars that went toward the purchase of the GOP-controlled Legislature. Was it an illegal takeover? That's up to a Travis County grand jury and the courts.

Texans for Public Justice, 609 W. 18th Ste. E, 472-9770; Campaigns for People, 5035 Burnet Rd., #100, 472-1102; Ivy, Crews & Elliot P.C., 4601 Spicewood Springs Rd., Bldg. 3, #100, 346-7390

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It's true that Barton Springs brings out the "weird" in a lot of Austinites, including elected officials, but Will Wynn turned his buttoned-down image inside out with his fully (and nicely) clothed splash into the soul of the city. He never looked more natural during his entire mayoral campaign.

Mayor's Office
124 W. Eighth
512/974-2250

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These Fab Four made the Place 5 race the best City Council field we've seen in 10 years. Clarke, of course, went the farthest, forcing Brewster McCracken into a run-off, but Singleton (an old hand at city politics), Tepper (a unique progressive Republican), and Marks (a potential next-generation leader) all helped turn the Place 5 contest into a real dialogue on Austin's future – what all council races should be.

Margot Clarke, 54 Chicon,477-1729, margot.clarke@sierraclub.com; Carl Tepper, PO Box 3361, Austin, 78764, 327-0961; Scott Marks, 328-2232 x75, scottm@mciver.com; Robert Singleton, 476-3209

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When the hard-right caucus waved the flag on the House floor to endorse the Bush war on Iraq (HCR 75 authored by The Woodlands Republican Rob Eissler), almost all the members joined the mob, including far too many members of the Central Texas delegation. But a handful did stand up to the pressure and defied the jingoists, and Austinites can be proud that among them was one of our own. Remember to raise a glass to District 51 rookie-no-longer Eddie Rodriguez, who, with Fort Worth Dem Lon Burnam and El Paso’s Paul Moreno, effectively resisted being drafted into the military chorus. (District 46 veteran Dawnna Dukes was one of six abstainers.) Who’s been proven right? Rodriguez, Burnam, Moreno made their own majority of three, and we salute them all.

PO Box 2910, Austin, 78768, 463-0674

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Two years ago, nobody woulda thunk the former governor of a small northeastern state would find himself in the thick of the presidential race – and setting the agenda for everybody else, including the Big Dubya. It’s still far too soon to tell how this will all sort out next year – but in getting there fast, bringing out forgotten progressive voters, riding the Internet wave, and setting the terms of debate on war and peace, Howard Dean and the Deanheads stand tall. Two Austin originals can take major credit for the Dean surge: former District 51 Rep. Glen Maxey (see Readers, Best Activist) and Convio Inc., the software firm specializing in Web sites for nonprofit organizing and fundraising. Maxey was the instant heart of the Texas Dean campaign, and Convio (now also working for Dean rival Joe Lieberman) provided the cyber-expertise to make it all possible. New motto: All politics is virtual …

Convio
11921 N. MoPac
512/652-2600

Howard Dean Campaign
512/443-2004
www.deanfortexas.com

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Of all the many state agencies located around town, the staff of the Secretary of State's Office stands out for their ability to deliver friendly, fast, and efficient customer service every single time you call or visit their Brazos Street offices. The always-friendly staff will help you figure out the answers to questions you didn't even know you had: Have questions about statutory documents? Corporate filings? No problem! (Now there's a positive way to encourage new businesses coming to the state!) We're not sure if it's something they're pumping through the HVAC system over there (happy air, maybe?) or if it's just that they have a really good HR department, but whatever it is, we just hope they keep it up!

Staff of the Secretary of State's Office
1019 Brazos
512/463-5600
www.sos.state.tx.us/authinfo.shtml

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