Letters are posted as we receive them during the week, and before they are printed in the paper, so check back frequently to see new letters. If you'd like to send a letter to the editor, use this postmarks submission form, or email your letter directly to mail@austinchronicle.com. Thanks for your patience.

Dear Editor,
    I follow the rules that Austin Water has put forth in stage 2 watering. But after reading that 7 billion gallons were lost last year I feel like the average homeowner is being misled and asked to pay the price for the city's failure to address this issue. I realize this has been kicked down the road for years and the responsibility stretches back many years. Austin paid a consultant firm $200,000 for a report on the problem and the city is two months late with their report. So the next time you see me with a hose in my hand, just smile ...

Dear Editor,
    Thanks for covering the D4 council race. ["Council District 4 Rematch Finds Candidates Still Split on Housing Policy," News, Sept. 20] In addition to their differences on housing issues, there is one more point that D4 candidates Chito Vela and Monica Guzman differ on. Last time I asked them, Guzman said she supported having the council take up a Gaza ceasefire resolution. Vela said it wasn't local and the council should not discuss it. As the Middle East approaches a boiling point, that might be a significant difference for some voters.

Dear Editor,
    Re: "Casar Introduces Act to Help Fossil Fuel Workers Transition to Clean Energy Jobs" [News, Sept. 17]: Greg Casar's American Energy Worker Opportunity Act doesn't go far enough to protect workers! Your article didn't mention that the wage compensation proposed is for only 60 days following employment termination. We need to treat the climate crisis like the emergency that it is – ensuring a just transition for fossil fuel workers is fundamental to that. Eddie Espinoza, Green Party candidate for Railroad Commissioner this year, is committed to a rapid transition to renewable energy, implemented in a way that protects fossil fuel workers. I'm voting in the interests of the people, supporting workers, not corporations.

Dear Editor,
    As an activist and Courage for America Council Member in Austin, Texas, I know that my vote matters. I also know that our democratic institutions and the results of every election should be respected and upheld, regardless of the outcome. That is why every member of Congress must commit to the peaceful certification of the 2024 presidential election – the traditional, ceremonial process by which Congress upholds the peoples’ choice.
    We all remember where we were on January 6th, 2021. The former president and MAGA Republicans in Congress promoted the Big Lie surrounding the 2020 election to the point of inciting an insurrection that harmed over 140 police officers protecting the United States Capitol. We saw members of Congress turn their backs on their constitutional responsibility by voting to overturn the will of the American people immediately following one of the largest attacks on our democracy. I was horrified as I watched those events unfold that day. With 100 days remaining until January 6, 2025, we hope that Congress will have the courage to stand up for our democracy and commit to the traditional certification on that crucial date. The American people will be watching how they respond.

Dear Editor,
    Regarding Michael King’s article “Doug Greco’s Campaign Odyssey Turns to Federal Court” [News, Sept. 20], I thank him for taking the time to talk with me and for representing my arguments in his piece. And while he has a right to believe that the well-funded and wealthy incumbent has the advantage in this race, I do want to make one correction, and one other response.
    I knew what the contribution limits were going in, and the challenges that these restrictions would pose for a grassroots candidate. What I didn't know was that I might approach the geographic limit so fast. Nor did I know that I would be the only candidate willing to sign the City's Campaign Contract, which voluntarily limits candidates to $120,000 in contributions and spending limits for the race. Had all candidates signed the contract like I did, we would have had a very inexpensive mayoral campaign with each candidate limited to $120,000. But that didn't happen, so by city code I'm also released from the caps AND I’m the only candidate to get public funding in a runoff. If other candidates want big money in the race, as a former AISD teacher and grassroots organizer I want a fair playing field.
    My case is not about Citizens United, which had to do with corporate funding of PACs, but about geographic restrictions on individual, grassroots donations, unique to the city of Austin, and which occur at no other level of government. They favor incumbents and wealthy candidates. The check against big money in politics are contribution limits (very low at $450/person in Austin) and transparency: Jeremy Sylestine, who vastly outraised the more progressive Jose Garza in the Travis County D.A.’s Democratic primary race using Republican dollars (some of whom have also given to Watson), lost handily because Garza’s campaign rightly exposed the donors using Sylestine’s campaign finance reports, which all candidates running for office must file regularly throughout the election.