Don't Bother to RSVP

The Facebook photos of the wedding reception were all celebratory – including the guests of honor and others in faux “farmer” get-ups – and posts by friends and family of Austin ISD Trustee Jayme Mathias and his new spouse Luyao Anthony Tang were enthusiastically congratulatory.

But not everybody was happy that the July 18 combination reception and “Urban Farm Tour & Fundraiser” for local public schools took place at Springdale Farm. Prior to the event, Mathias received a blistering email denunciation from PODER Director Susana Almanza, who called his use of the urban farm venue “highly inappropriate,” a shadow attempt to influence AISD decisions about the farm (which has requested use of the nearby Allan Elementary parking lot), and a show of “total disrespect” to the neighborhood and “communities of color.”

Almanza’s July 15 email, which cites the ongoing dispute over a potential Conditional Use Permit for special events at Springdale Farm (to be considered Aug. 6 by City Council), was copied to dozens of other recipients (including AISD trustees), and opposes the “alcohol consumption, noise, traffic, and trash” that opponents associate with special events at Springdale. Almanza accuses Mathias of attempting to undermine a district stakeholders’ meeting scheduled for Aug. 3. “We find your fundraiser at Springdale Farm to be a total disrespect to communities of color,” Almanza continues. “As a school board member that is aware of the residents’ concerns, you should not be trying to persuade other School Board Members. Your actions are highly inappropriate and lack ethics.”

Mathias responded to Almanza the same day, saying he was “shocked and extremely disappointed by the disrespectful tone of [Almanza’s] communication and by the many mistruths and/or overstatements contained therein.” He rejected her charge that he is ignoring the community, calls the reception/fundraiser “an educational event,” and notes: “This farm lies within my [trustee] district, employs members of our community, and is a part of the neighborhood that has grown around it since its establishment in the Twenties.” Mathias responds that Almanza’s suggestion that the “community” opposes the farm is at best “overstated,” and counters that many East Austin residents support the farm. He specifically rejects Almanza’s charge that he is disrespecting “communities of color.” Mathias writes: “Ms. Almanza, you should be ashamed. This has nothing to do with race.” Mathias ends by suggesting that rather than sending incendiary emails, Almanza should sit down “cara a cara” [“face to face”] with others and “build relationships.”

The next day, Almanza responded with another email blast to Mathias and 70+ others, reiterating her charges against Springdale Farm and insisting that the dispute does not concern farming or the food supply but the farm’s desire to hold special events disruptive to the neighborhood and for which it is requesting the use of the parking lots at Allan Elementary. She cites the vote of the Planning Commission not to recommend a Conditional Use Permit, says Mathias could have held his reception elsewhere, and concludes, “Your decision to have a fundraiser at a controversial site, one that is negatively impacting East Austin residents and East Austin neighborhoods, sends a clear message.”

Mathias was celebrating his honeymoon in Hawaii last week, and has not yet responded to Almanza’s follow-up email. According to the correspondence, an AISD stakeholders meeting on the issue is scheduled for Aug. 3. The full Almanza/Mathias emails can be read here.