10-1 Ticker... Election updates!

Photo by Jana Birchum

The Mike Martinez for Mayor campaign continues to pound opponent Steve Adler for his 2004 "pro-special interest" conference paper ("Regulatory Takings," co-authored with Sumer Shelton) on zoning and eminent domain cases. Martinez attacks Adler's concluding suggestion (borrowed from libertarian economist Vernon Smith) that literal "bidding" on zoning cases by opposing parties might be an improvement on current law. Asked by the Chronicle for a comment, Adler called it "an academic paper" intended to provoke discussion – "I don't advocate that approach," he said, "and it would be unworkable anyway."... Late-filing mayoral candidate David Orshalick told a "creative sector" forum Monday he entered the race because no other candidate had offered "plausible solutions" to any of Austin's problems, and cited Lee Iacocca's "Lead, follow, or get out of the way" (reportedly stolen from Gen. George S. Patton). ... D5's Jason Denny applauded the recent vote by Council to move toward legalizing transportation network companies (Uber, Lyft, etc.). He said Austin has been "way behind in embracing" TNCs and called the taxi alternatives a "safe, efficient, and worthwhile solution to our drunk driving epidemic."... D3's Shaun Ireland is calling out rival Jose Valera for his weak voting record – Valera failed to vote in the past six years, last casting a ballot in the Democratic Party primary in 2008. Valera called the issue a "distraction" and told us he hopes his military service in Iraq (the fourth-generation East Austinite was deployed in 2003) proves he's dedicated to civic duty. But in the end, the D3 candidate said, he's not "in the business of making excuses."... Anticipating drama from the packed race, some D3 residents requested APD presence at the League of Women Voters-hosted D3 forum earlier this week (reportedly, they needed it). ... On Sept. 29, the Austin Neighborhoods Council posted its endorsements, many of which came as no surprise: Several candidates had already publicly announced their nods following the ANC's Sept. 24 forum, even though they were asked to wait. D10 endorsee Jason Meeker wrote on his campaign's Facebook page the day after the forum, "This is big, huge, GIGANTIC news! ... We need to tell everyone the good news."... On Wednesday, D6 candidate Jimmy Flannigan rolled out a new website entitled "Flannigan Can Fix It!" with more than a bit of fanfare. Visitors to the site can report problems in D6 and also enjoy the work of Flannigan, video auteur, by watching his 6-minute, single-take attempt to position himself as Austin's version of Leslie Knope.