The Daily Hustle: 11/17/10

We’ve noted the trickle of City Council re-election announcements this week, but today we’ve got a rundown of the three incumbent campaign kickoffs: Laura Morrison, Chris Riley, and Randi Shade.

Follow us below the fold for all the dirt.

Chris Riley has announced his intention to run for re-election for the Place 1 seat he won just two years ago, completing the unexpired term belonging to Lee Leffingwell, who left one year in to run for mayor.

Longtime political consultant David Butts will run his campaign; Mike Clark-Madison, Policy and Research Director at Hahn, Texas (slash former Chron News editor) is named as treasurer, while Susan Harry will reprise her role from Riley's 2009 campaign as a fundraising consultant.

Here’s more from Riley’s website:

The current economic downturn offers an opportunity for our city to get serious about addressing some of our biggest ongoing challenges. As councilman, I will focus on three issues: the economy & environment, transportation, and protecting Austin′s character. We need to create local jobs through environmentally responsible initiatives; we need to reduce our dependence on cars; and we need to preserve what makes our city special. And in addressing all these issues, we must engage the people of Austin and seek solutions that reflect the collective creativity, compassion, and conscience of our citizens.

Randi Shade is running again for Place 3. Her campaign will be managed by Katherine Haenschen, who maneuvered Riley's 2009 campaign, as well as the Travis County Dems' 2010 coordinated campaign. Susan Harry will also serve as Shade's fundraising guru, while local progressive consultants Mike Blizzard and Mark Littlefield will act in an advisory role.

Sez Shade in her announcement:

About her first term in office, Randi stated, "it may be impossible to agree on all issues or to see every challenge coming, but it is possible to have thoughtful debate and make decisions that are driven by fairness and common sense." She added, "This is everybody's Austin. I have the ability and willingness to help people from all parts of our community, regardless of the issue and regardless of the politics. I am running for re-election to continue to work hard to make Austin the best place it can be."

Laura Morrison Place 4's re-election bid features Jim Wick as campaign manager, with David Butts reappearing as her chief consultant. Rounding out the team are media consultant Dean Rindy, pollster Jeff Smith, and field director (and former Chron Screens editor/Leffingwell ground-gamer) Shawn Badgley.

Take it away, Laura:

"I am honored and grateful every day for the responsibility that Austinites have entrusted me with," Morrison said. "I have worked tirelessly -- on and off the dais – to create an environment of accountability and transparency to our citizens.”

"Ensuring that Austin is a vibrant, thriving, healthy place to live and work is why I ran for City Council to begin with and is why I am asking the voters for a second term," Morrison said. "Austin is a wonderful place, but it is also a city facing critical challenges amid a turbulent economy. I will continue to focus on affordability, protecting Austin’s resources, and making Austin a city where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

So far, we’ve yet to see announcements from any challengers to the incumbents.

What the hell else is happening?

On the city calendar: A public meeting on the proposed Solid Waste Services master plan, encompassing citywide recycling and lots more, is going on all day at Fiesta Gardens. At 6:30pm, “the project team will recap and report what we learned throughout the workshop,” says the city.

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