29th Street Ballroom
Voice of Austin
RECEIVED Wed., Sept. 30, 2020
Chronicle Editorial Staff,
This letter comes at the request of Mike Clark-Madison in his denial of our request for a correction to your article dated for September 25th on Project Connect that mentions Voices of Austin as well as Peck Young, Senator Gonzalo Barrientos, and Ora Houston.
In your article you allude that Voices of Austin is funded by “the Koch network.” Voices of Austin is 100% locally funded by Austinites. The members of Voices of Austin are aware of who Koch Industries is, what it stands for, and their activity in transit campaigns, and Voices of Austin would never take a dime from them. Voices of Austin is comprised of Austinites fighting for Austin.
Additionally, please note that Voices of Austin is a nonpartisan organization. Our interest is not to represent one political agenda, it is to amplify the voices of Austinites, most of whom feel ignored by City Hall. You may reference the results of our most recent and scientifically conducted poll of Austinites on the issues here.
When speaking with Peck Young regarding your misrepresentation of Voices of Austin he feels that “Frankly, this seems like nothing more than a cheap and dishonest attack by a desperate campaign that wants to tax people during a pandemic.” It feels particularly desperate when one notices that your advertising funding has come from some of the very engineering firms that are set to profit from building Project Connect.
To reiterate, Voices of Austin has never had any dealings with Koch Industries. Please add a correction to your article immediately.
Should you require any additional information or seek an informative and truthful interview regarding our organization please reach out to our press secretary directly.
This letter comes at the request of Mike Clark-Madison in his denial of our request for a correction to your article dated for September 25th on Project Connect that mentions Voices of Austin as well as Peck Young, Senator Gonzalo Barrientos, and Ora Houston.
In your article you allude that Voices of Austin is funded by “the Koch network.” Voices of Austin is 100% locally funded by Austinites. The members of Voices of Austin are aware of who Koch Industries is, what it stands for, and their activity in transit campaigns, and Voices of Austin would never take a dime from them. Voices of Austin is comprised of Austinites fighting for Austin.
Additionally, please note that Voices of Austin is a nonpartisan organization. Our interest is not to represent one political agenda, it is to amplify the voices of Austinites, most of whom feel ignored by City Hall. You may reference the results of our most recent and scientifically conducted poll of Austinites on the issues here.
When speaking with Peck Young regarding your misrepresentation of Voices of Austin he feels that “Frankly, this seems like nothing more than a cheap and dishonest attack by a desperate campaign that wants to tax people during a pandemic.” It feels particularly desperate when one notices that your advertising funding has come from some of the very engineering firms that are set to profit from building Project Connect.
To reiterate, Voices of Austin has never had any dealings with Koch Industries. Please add a correction to your article immediately.
Should you require any additional information or seek an informative and truthful interview regarding our organization please reach out to our press secretary directly.
Best,
Voices of Austin Staff
Voices of Austin Staff
Editor-in-Chief Kim Jones responds: The passage in question reads: “There could yet be more actors entering the fray. In particular, transit supporters anticipate the involvement of the Koch network, which has spent heavily to oppose transit initiatives in cities across the country.” The article does not state Voices of America is funded by the Koch network, therefore there is nothing to correct. Further, I strongly dispute the suggestion that advertisers have influenced the Chronicle’s editorial coverage. Our advertising and editorial departments function independently, and the news staff knows who's bought an ad the same time our readers do – when they open up the paper on Thursday morning.