Seeing as we’re facing a gantlet of upcoming forums, Wednesday night’s Austin Neighborhoods Council City Council candidate forum may already be old news. But as perhaps the most well-attended and intense vetting of the candidates to date, it was a seriously substantive discussion – if not a window into the concerns of the voting homeownerati this election.
Place 4 hopeful Cid Galindo was first unto the breach, given (like all his fellow speakers) two minutes for an intro, then 13 minutes to face a barrage of detailed ANC questions, with a hard time limit of a minute on each answer enforced. Moderator Marceline Lasater didn’t brook any vagueness or pandering either, redirecting the candidates several times to restrict themselves to the questions at hand. Galindo displayed a good working knowledge of the issues (mainly zoning and neighborhood-plan related – what a surprise!), but didn’t necessarily deliver the “correct” answers to the ANC crowd: for instance, his willingness to readdress Town Lake setbacks for developers in order to complete the Hike and Bike Trail loop. “To simply be intransigent and say we won’t bend on that 200-foot limit” wasn’t good policy. Galindo instead called for “reasonable compromises” – like a 150 foot setback (at the very most).
Robin Cravey was drilled for his answer on an ANC questionnaire that compatibility standards might be relaxed for affordable housing. Cravey told the crowd Austin needed to “admit now” that in order to accommodate future growth, we’ll have to “build taller and closer together.”
Tough crowd.
Former ANC chair Laura Morrison told the crowd it was “my pleasure to work with all of you” in her various civic capacities; here she was, the tutor-the-kids-cheerleader to Cid Galindo’s popped-collar upperclassman, and Robin Cravey’s boys-room smokehound wise beyond his years. She delivered some jabs at the way the municipal budget’s been drawn up, saying by the end council “sorta has a million dollars to divide up” (it’s funny because it’s true). One question posed to her (and throughout the evening) dealt with the controversy over moving the Town Lake Animal Shelter; in the recently shot-down lawsuit protesting the move, the city took the position that neighborhood plans are merely advisory, not legally binding. “Zoning cases come out of neighborhood plans – those are not advisory,” Morrison said, before conceding “many things are at too high of a level to say they’re enforceable.” But we can dream, can’t we?
The rigid ANC format prevented the Place 1 Lee Leffingwell/Jason Meeker (and Allen Demling!) throwdown from becoming an outright bloodbath. Two moments stood out: when Leffingwell, queried why the Big Box ordinance took so long to get passed, while changes to the format for measuring impervious cover sailed through (yes, it was that hot and heavy!), he reasonably enough answered “some things go quickly, some things don’t.” The Wal-Mart warriors in the crowd chuckled, as if this simple truism held some hard-earned confession. Uhh, sure.
Later, a question to Meeker began, “it’s clear from your answers to the ANC questionnaire you need to become more familiar (with zoning regulations).” (For instance, Meeker didn’t know what compatibility requirements were.) With many likely questions, would Meeker – enemy of the “insiders” – rely on city staff for answers, the same team he’s railed against for the Wal-Mart site plan? Again, laughter ensued. (Meeker said he would, but also foresaw getting outside experts on board, like academics from the University of Texas).
In the Place 3 race, Ken Weiss spoke first, standing – thereby ensuring Randi Shade and Jennifer Kim get off their duffs as well. Off the bat, Shade was queried regarding her contention Kim was not an effective council member. She cited snafus like her support of expanding the panhandling ordinance, her 11th hour protest against the city manager hiring, and her toll road votes (where “you didn’t know how she would vote until the day of”). However, Shade was also slammed for her business ties; with three years on the Chamber of Commerce, would she be able to shake “the mindset of the chamber” to take the lowly neighborhoods’ side? “I don’t see the chamber as a competing entity,” Shade said.
Kim led by announcing “I realize I’ve made mistakes,” citing unnamed “things I would have done differently. But I learned from those mistakes.” Americans love a redemption story. But will Drew Barrymore politics be enough to save Kim come re-election?
Apparently it was enough for the ANC. Kim got the nod, as did (maybe less surprisingly) former leader Morrison. Neither Leffingwell or Meeker, however, cleared the two-thirds margin needed to endorse.
This article appears in March 28 • 2008.