Council Members on Their Initial Priorities

We asked the mayor and Council members what their priorities will be in the first few weeks of their tenure; these were their brief answers.

Steve Adler: Mayor

"The most important thing for this Council is to set up the new structure of governance, and then to take it to the first application and figure out how best to make it work. I know that it's being tweaked a lot – in terms of the suggestions that people have made. ... Quite frankly, I would expect changes to be made over the course of the next six months, while we're figuring out how to make it work best. ... I didn't anticipate it would be something that would happen in the first month, and I didn't think it would be as significant as what we're talking about in terms of structural changes. So I'm real pleased, I'm real excited, with what the Council's been able to do this fast."

Ora Houston: District 1 (East/Northeast)

"I'm having to figure out all of the different pieces to the city government. ... I'm trying to get a feel for how they interact, and encouraging some silos to be dismantled, like I encouraged out in the community. There are silos inside the hall of the city bureaucracy. ... And I'm trying to encourage people to talk together. Those are the things that I'm trying to understand, and work through, and encourage more relationships within the departments."

Delia Garza: District 2 (Southeast)

"We have on the agenda Thursday my regional Affordability Committee. ... It would be nice to have some real conversation among the various taxing entities and see if we can come together on: Are we duplicating services? Are we considering the impact of all bond measures that are put up? ... I really want to be a part of the conversation improving our mass transit [by being on the Cap Metro board]. ... I would really be interested in making Austin the best bus city. ... There need to be more buses and more predictable schedules."

Pio Renteria: District 3 (East/Southeast)

"I'm focused on creating a homestead preservation district. Right now, the city is dragging their feet because of how much money is involved. I just can't wait to get on a committee and start working. I've also been reaching out and meeting with different neighborhood groups and getting to know their issues and problems. That's important to me. It's been pretty busy, but it's exciting."

Greg Casar: District 4 (Central/Northeast)

"I want Austin to be an example of how progressive policy does work. ... [Texas' political climate] maybe means we can do a little less, but it means a lot in the South. ... The redevelopment of the ACC campus [at Highland Mall] is a huge priority. ... [The redevelopment presents] a lot of opportunities for local jobs for working people. How do we make sure those jobs are good? Can we improve them?"

Ann Kitchen: District 5 (Central/South)

"My priority is working on problems that affect District 5 residents, such as flooding, transportation options, lower cost fixes for roads, and then, of course, affordability remains a major concern for everyone, so I'll continue to work on those issues. Our first order of business as a Council is to work on the committee structure and Council meeting agendas so people have a chance to weigh in and be part of the decision-making earlier in the process. We don't want to be meeting at 3 in the morning, and the public doesn't want that either."

Don Zimmerman: District 6 (West/Northwest)

"My first priorities are to implement immediately a 20 percent homestead property tax exemption, and to shrink government." [Editor's Note: Declared during Council's orientation session.]

Leslie Pool: District 7 (Central/Northwest)

"First, I want to set up our new Council system in the best way possible, because how we set things up will determine the success of future Councils. I'm focused on shaping the committee structure and community engagement piece, including the Affordability Committee. When we talk about wanting to fundamentally change Council, this is the first real tangible expression of that. Second, I want to ensure parks and libraries – which have been chronically underfunded – receive priority in the budget. I'm tremendously energized about the work we're doing and the opportunities we're being presented with."

Ellen Troxclair: District 8 (Southwest)

"Although we deal with very different policy issues at the city level versus the state level, the idea of being accountable to a specific district and having constituent relations being one of my main priorities is something I've been doing at the Capitol [as a legislative aide] for 10 years now. So it comes very naturally to me in my position, as far as some others who may have more difficulty adjusting to the new district system."

Kathie Tovo: District 9 (Central/Downtown)

"I want to make sure that the public has more access ... to insist on making sure that people feel they have more opportunities than they did, and feel like their input is better reflected in the decisions that get made. ... While I have some specific proposals I'd like to advance, I'll probably wait a bit, until we get beyond that kind of policy work that we've committed to do with one another."

Sheri Gallo: District 10 (Northwest)

"We've been to about 20 [District 10] neighborhood organization meetings over the last handful of weeks. ... We're going to develop a coalition of neighborhood associations so that one or two people from each organization can come and meet as a group. ... As we hear about consistent issues we're going to be developing task forces. ... We're probably going to get to that in March. ... I would love to do everything tomorrow, but we have to be realistic."